Breaking down food shelf barriers - Park Rapids Enterprise

Denny Ulmer has been a food shelf volunteer for five years.

“Pre-COVID we had 400-450 families a month using the food shelf,” he said. “Last month we had around 250 families. I’ve asked a number of clients why they think use is down. One of the most frequent responses is that they got that bump in food stamps for COVID and then another 15 percent bump in January, and they can’t use it on anything but food. They can’t use it for toilet paper or paper towels or toothpaste. One lady told me she had money left over at the end of the month and just doesn’t need more food.”

Donna Anderson, a health and nutrition educator with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, said this is a statewide trend.

“People have been receiving more in the stimulus money and SNAP benefits so they have not been using the food shelf as much,” she said. “However, it is not known how long that increased SNAP benefit will last.”

Ulmer said another reason for lower use of the food shelf may be the food support students have been receiving from school districts since the pandemic began.

Ulmer said donations during the Minnesota FoodShare drive that runs through April 11 are still important because they help determine how much money the Hubbard County Food Shelf receives.

“We used to park grocery carts for donations in the bank lobbies, grocery stores, churches and the library,” he said. “We aren’t doing that this year because of COVID. It’s important, because for every pound of food we collect at this time it equals one dollar in matching funds from the state.”

The food shelf serves residents in all of Hubbard County as well as those within the Park Rapids school district boundary.

“That goes all the way to Frazee, up just south of Bemidji,” he said. “We have shipments that go out to Ponsford, the Osage Senior Citizens Center, the Nevis Senior Citizens Center and the Akeley/Nevis Food Shelf. So we’re reaching out and sharing products with a variety of community centers so those clients don’t have to come to Park Rapids.”

Food shelf director Bob Hansen said that as of March 20 there have been $36,209 in cash donations and 17,600 pounds of donated food. That doesn’t count the donations that came from the Hugo’s grocery store campaign last week, where customers selected either a six-pound bag for $6 or a $10 bag with 10 pounds of food to be added to their grocery bill.

People responded by donating 117 bags of groceries. There were 54 of the $6 bags and 63 of the $10 bags for a total of 954 pounds of food. The bags were then brought to the food shelf.

“If we finish the Food Share campaign with a strong two weeks like we just had, that would be really, really good,” Hansen said.

Ulmer said there may be people who could benefit from food shelf assistance but are hesitant to come forward.

“Anyone can be in a situation where they need assistance,” Ulmer said. “Maybe they are unemployed. My wife and I have lived here for 35 years, so I’ve seen many friends that I never would have predicted would find themselves in that circumstance of needing to use the food shelf, but it happens. A while back a family lost their home to fire in northern Hubbard County and were able to obtain an apartment here in town. We got them silverware, a can opener, pots and pans in addition to the food because they didn’t have anything.”

In order to make it easier for working people to come, the food shelf recently decided to be open from noon to 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays in addition to their regular hours Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The food shelf also works with RDO to make sure migrants who work there have access.

“We do have some Spanish-speaking volunteers,” he said. “We used to have more Hispanic people using the food shelf but haven’t seen that in some time. I know there is fear of deportation among some in that population.”

Ulmer said he hopes anyone experiencing food insecurity will contact the food shelf for help.

“Registration takes about three minutes and is all done electronically,” Ulmer said.

He said 90 percent of clients who use the food shelf are already in the system because they are receiving other services such as SNAP or WIC benefits. If clients do not qualify under one of those government assistance programs, eligibility is determined based on income and the number of family members in the household.

Another barrier for some people is transportation. “We do have home delivery but only get two or three requests a month,” Ulmer said. “We have volunteers who will deliver to homes and leave a box of food outside their residence and the Heartland bus will also help us out with deliveries in town.”
Anyone who is not able to come and get the food should contact the food shelf to learn more about this option.

“A family walked to the food shelf on one of the coldest days this winter because they didn’t have money for the bus,” he said. “I found out they were planning to share half of their food with a woman who was a shut in at an apartment building in town. People who can’t go out just need to call us. We have a number of volunteers who will take the food and deliver it to them.”

COVID precautions are in place for the protection of volunteers and clients. Clients go into the food shelf building one at a time and need to wear masks. Volunteers also wear masks.

Community food drops have also been successful in the past. “I expect with the warmer weather that will be happening again,” Ulmer said. “People drive up and get a box from the North Country Food Bank with dairy, milk and produce.”

In addition to food, the food shelf also gets toilet paper and bar soap to distribute.

“We have more healthy food now too,” he said. “Every Monday morning we have a Walmart delivery and that tends to be a lot of produce.”

Ulmer said due to decreased usage of the food shelf, they have increased the amount of food they are giving to each client.

“We’ve doubled the amount of meat we’re giving,” he said. “We have cases and cases of eggs and just ask families how many cartons they’d like. We’re really pushing food out the door. So people are getting a lot more food from us, so if they have the storage capability it’s stretching out longer.”

Donations of food may be brought to the Hubbard County Food Shelf on Pleasant Avenue South during regular hours. Pull into the door closest to the alley for curbside pickup or to drop off donations and call 218-732-1282. Anyone entering the food shelf must wear a mask.

The food shelf is open Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Thursdays from noon to 5:30 p.m. It is closed Tuesdays. Cash donations will also be accepted during those hours. Mail checks to: Hubbard County Food Shelf, 308 Pleasant Ave. South, Park Rapids, MN, 56470.

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