Traffic Up at Social Services, Pantries

TELLURIDE – Should I repair my car so I can go out and look for work or spend that money to buy food for my kids?

Do I really need to see a doctor for this?

Which of my prescriptions can I let lapse?

The region’s residents are being forced to answer difficult questions as the prolonged recession has left more and more looking for ways to fulfill the most fundamental of needs – putting food on the table – and they’re turning to government and community provided social services in increasing numbers to do so.

“We’ve more than doubled our food benefit delivery,” said Allan Gerstle, director of Social Services for both San Miguel and Ouray Counties.

By the end of October, 86 eligible low-income households in San Miguel County had received food stamp benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a nearly 51 percent increase from the 57 households served during the same month last year, according to Gerstle.

He estimated that San Miguel County will disperse nearly $236,000 worth of the food stamp benefits to its residents by the time the 2009 calendar year has ended, a dramatic 131 percent increase over the more than $102,000 it distributed in 2008.

In Ouray County, 93 households received food stamp benefits in October, up about 43 percent from the 65 households that received benefits last year.

Gerstle estimated that his department would distribute about $250,000 in food stamp benefits by the end of the year to Ouray County residents, up about 118 percent from the nearly $115,000 it dispersed in 2008.

The reality of the recession is not lost on Gerstle, who said the noticeable up tick in the number of people applying for government assistance to feed themselves and their families came last October.

“Usually our busiest months are in the spring after the ski area closes,” he said.

“Whatever you ask right now, last month was our busiest month,” he continued.

The need in the region’s smaller counties is magnified in Montrose County by virtue of its larger population.

Montrose Health and Human Services Director Peg Mewes said the department she oversees has seen a 21 percent increase in the number of individuals accessing federal food stamp benefits since the beginning of the year – from 3,863 in January to 4,657 at the end of October.

And the most recent number is a 63 percent increase from the 2,858 Montrose County residents who received food stamp benefits in January 2008.

Perhaps more startling than the increased number of people who are reaching out for government assistance is the havoc the economy has played in the lives of ordinary, working people.

Mewes described many of her clients as “people who have lost stable work,” and said that an informal survey taken by her office last week found that about eighty percent of those seeking services had never before had the occasion to do so.

“It’s totally something new for these families to have to face,” she said, describing former two-income families that have been forced to dip into savings and retirement accounts to make ends meet.

“They are people who are used to working; they’re probably used to helping,” she said.

But now it is they who need help, she continued.

“A lot are people who have never ever been in our offices,” Gerstle agreed.

Local food pantries have also seen demand for their services grow.

In Telluride last week the San Miguel Regional Food Bank, which was established in particular to help serve individuals and families that don’t qualify for government programs such as SNAP, provided food to 10 households, or about 25 individuals.

“Normal is four to six households or 10 people,” said Director Angie Peterson, who attributed the increase in part to the coming holiday season and in part because the food bank will serve anyone who is hungry – no questions asked.

“I think the word is getting around that the only restriction is that you can [only] come once a month,” she said.

But the real surprise came when the SMRFB opened its new West End branch in Norwood last Thursday and ended up providing food to 40 households or more than 90 people.

“It was a larger number than we anticipated,” said Peterson, who described the clients as “A lot of young families now with one income, seniors that need food help, and some individuals.”

“We’re seeing quite a few more people,” said Frank Leonardi, who coordinates the Ouray County Food Bank from its headquarters at the Calvary Assembly of God church in Ouray.

Leonardi said that until last summer the food bank used to feed between 10 and 12 families a week, but last Tuesday that number was up to 22.

“We’re up about 30 percent from this time last year,” said Andi Lester, Distribution Clerk for the Sharing Ministries, Inc. food pantry in Montrose.

On Tuesday Lester said she had just handed out Thanksgiving turkeys to most of the 132 people who turned up looking for food help.

“There was literally a line out the door and around the corner,” she said.

In light of a report released earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it comes as little surprise that more of the region’s residents need to look beyond their paychecks to feed themselves.

The report found that 14.6 percent of American households experienced some degree of “food insecurity” during 2008, meaning that at some time during the year they had difficulty providing enough food for all their family members due to a lack of resources.

The number was up from 11.1 percent in 2007 and was the highest observed since nationally representative food security surveys were initiated in 1995, according to the report.

More than one-third of the nation’s food insecure households, 5.7 percent, experienced very low food security during 2008, meaning that the food intake of one or more household members was reduced and their eating patterns disrupted because of a lack of resources.

That number was up from 4.1 percent of households in 2007 and was also the highest level observed since 1995.

While Coloradoans fared slightly better than the national average with 12.2 percent of residents here experiencing some degree of food insecurity during 2008, the state slightly outpaced the national rate of low food insecurity at 5 percent for the year, according to the report.

“The recession is affecting everyone,” said Gerstle.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” said Mewes.