Here & Now

Welcome to "Noon Wednesday." I'm Marisa Wojcik, multimedia journalist with "Here & Now" on PBS Wisconsin. Today is July 29. Since the start of the pandemic, needs of the most vulnerable populations, such as the food insecure, have grown. But the continued strain on resources is entering us into new territory where those who have never needed food assistance are now relying on food banks across the state, and that need is going to continue to grow. This is according to our guest today, Stephanie Jung Dorfman. She's the executive director of Feeding Wisconsin, a statewide network of food banks, part of a national cohort, Feeding America, and Stephanie, thank you so much for joining us today. Thanks so much, Marisa. I'm glad to be here. Since the start of the pandemic, what have food needs looked like in different parts of Wisconsin? Sure. So, our food pantries have seen variable demand from those in need. We're seeing situations where there is an increase in demand across the state, every 72 counties, we're projecting an increase in demand currently and projecting into the future. It's varied a bit, as you can imagine. Our counties that have always had the most food insecurity continue to have the most food insecurity. However, the biggest changes of those counties, the biggest increases in food insecurity have actually come from some of our counties that previously had lower food insecurity. So, as we're seeing both COVID-19 playing into the reasons that food insecurity exists in these times, and also the economic challenges that individuals are facing. We're seeing counties that previously had pretty stable workforce environments now realizing that there are some economic impacts happening there and folks struggling with hunger. Have food banks been able to keep up with the rising demand? Yes. So, currently we are. We're doing what we do best, sourcing and distributing food to those in need. We have experienced great demands, and an increase not only of households, but also of the amount of food that's needed. So, as families are in really tougher times, they're needing more food to get through their month. So, our food banks are distributing, on average, 40% more food right now. And as I mentioned, we've been working with Feeding America national to do some projections, to understand what the need is going to look like in the coming months and year ahead. And our food banks are projecting an increase in demand of about two to three times more pounds of food that we're going to need to distribute throughout our pantry network to fill that need. We're also projecting an increase in about 60 to 70% of the number of people that we'll be serving, likely with a peak being this fall or into winter as we're expecting another surge. So, this is not a short challenge for us. We're really gearing up for a long haul of both COVID response and also some economic recovery that is likely to lag, even the existence of a vaccine. How do government assistance programs such as the federal one-time stimulus payment, unemployment insurance, how do those impact people's ability to maintain food security? So, we've seen in these past months some fluctuation in need for our services. Some pantries have actually seen a decrease in the number of people coming through their lines, and we very much have attributed it to those other programs are providing some stability for families. That added supplement to unemployment insurance, for those who were receiving unemployment, has been a great way to help folks budget those funds to put food on their tables. Oftentimes, we know families are making tough decisions about their budget and especially right now, as we're hearing in other news stories around unemployment and moratoriums on evictions, that people are finding ways to either pay their rent or their utilities or for medication or for food. And oftentimes, food is one of the most flexible budget items. And often the one thing that falls to the wayside. So, our network has been able to fill that gap, especially these last few months, with those additional programs, with the increase of SNAP benefits, the SNAP benefit allotment for many families increased these last few months, as well as pandemic EBT, which is a program that offered some additional support for families with K through 12 students who were eligible for free and reduced lunch. So, those added supports really did help families put food on their table and also helped to relieve the strain on our network. As we're seeing some of those programs fall off, we are considering what that's going to mean for our network and the number of folks ask are accessing our services. And that's where we're gearing up for some increase in demand in the coming months. So, you're saying that in addition to folks that already historically have access to your services either a few times or on a semi-regular basis, there are now people accessing your services and will be accessing your services that have never needed food assistance before? Yes, that's correct. So, we know that there are some folks who are chronically experiencing food insecurity and others, it is a momentary period of their life, that they've hit a rough spot, lost employment, had a medical emergency. Oftentimes, we talk about how many of us are one emergency away from experiencing food insecurity. Unfortunately, in these times, that's a much more normalized experience for many Wisconsinites. We have seen that about 40% of folks coming through our pantry lines have never accessed these services before. So, that's a great increase in the number of people who are for the first time in their lives accessing pantries for food. We also know through some Feeding America projections that it's likely that food insecurity in Wisconsin will increase from about 8.9% in 2018 to about 13.9% this year. That means an added 300,000-plus Wisconsinites experiencing food insecurity on top of the previous over 500,000. And that includes about one in every four children are likely to experience food insecurity through the COVID-19 response and recovery. And so knowing, like you said, 2018 pre-pandemic and the statistics and need currently, your organization has been able to anticipate what the need is going to look like going forward. And you're saying it's going to grow quite a bit. Yes, yes. We're expecting, like I said, about 60 to 70% more folks accessing our services and also a need for at least double to triple the amount of food going out our doors. Our food banks are planning budgets that reflect that. Most of our food banks have either double or tripled their anticipated budgets for the next year, and are getting pretty creative with how we hope to source that food, Food sourcing has been another challenge in these times, as we see food supply chains being disrupted on multiple levels, not just for our own network, but also grocers have had some food chain disruptions that have impacted their own supply. So, we're getting more creative with the utilizing partners in our state, such as some of our commodity associations and small processors as well to try to source that product that we'll need in the coming months to year. Yeah, the virus is causing many food suppliers, such as meat plants, to shutter as employees get sick, and impacting your ability to secure food. Are you then in competition with other entities like grocery stores? I have to say at times that's been the case, but luckily we do have great relationships with grocers and retailers. In fact, they're oftentimes our source of donated food. And in normal times, right now that's changed a bit, our food banks in pre-COVID times were receiving about 80% of our food that we distribute through donations. That's individual, but also directly from grocers, manufacturers, and growers. At this time, we are purchasing about 60% of our food that's needed to go out to our network. So, it's been a great increase in both cost and also our capacity to source that product. But like I said, we're looking to different spaces for that food. At the beginning of COVID, we had built some really great and quick relationships with the service industry suppliers. As restaurants were shutting down, there was a lot of food there that needed to be distributed, needed a place to go. And it was at a time when our network was really strained to get food. So, that was one space that was new to us as we hadn't worked with service industry suppliers as much before. So, those are just some examples that we've been trying to work through to source food in new ways than we had previously. As organizations like yours have found creative solutions to overcome new barriers to meet the growing need, are you concerned as we go forward that we won't be able to meet the growing need because there's just more demand than there is available for supply? Sure. It's definitely something we're thinking through. Luckily, we have some of those projections. We see where there are some gaps likely to come for our network and sourcing food and trying to build the partnerships to get us through that. Luckily, we have a great agricultural state. It's going to be a challenge, I'll have to say, in the winter months, and that's where we're trying to gear up to do as much shelf-stable production of products this year. But I think as we're looking in the long-haul, looking ahead at the next year, 2021, and we know that there'll likely be some great demand, we're trying to build some partnerships that we can increase growing production and provide support to growers and processors and have those conversations now so that there'll be more food to come in the next year. We are always looking ahead so that we can make sure that we have the resources we need to meet the need, but there's definitely some challenges ahead for us as well. Like I said, we've had some great partnerships with commodity associations that are helping us work through those challenges, building strong relationships with the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Beef Council, Food and Beverage Wisconsin, to make sure that on all ends, the farmers, growers, the processors, and also the distributors, making sure that they have the capacity and understanding of what we're looking at to come. Was there any funding distributed from the federal CARES Act? And are you seeing additional funding possibilities with the upcoming HEROES Act? Sure. So, the CARES Act did a few things that supported our network, including in the CARES Act, some flexibilities for the SNAP program, pandemic EBT, those other nutritional supports like TEFAP which is the Emergency Food Assistance Program. That provided a relief to our network, I would say. And in other ways, the CARES Act has also had the opportunity to distribute funds to our network. In Dane County, Dane County did release some funds to our food bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of Southern Wisconsin, that allowed them to purchase locally-sourced product from Dane County to serve the needs of Dane County residents. Currently, there are two grant opportunities as part of Governor Evers' food security initiative, DATCP has released two programs. One is to support the funding to increase food bank and food pantry infrastructure capacity needs during this time, and the other is a $10 million potential award for Wisconsin food product purchasing to meet the increased demand in our network. So, those opportunities through CARES Act funds are hopeful. They're still in the works, but we're hopeful that that's going to help offset some of these needs that we have. In the way of the HEROES Act, or now the GOP's version of the HEROES Act, the HEALS Act, our network has advocated for some supports within that. What we've seen in the way that the HEALS Act is currently drafted is there is a lack of nutrition assistance within that current version of the bill. Like I said, SNAP is our country's first line of defense against hunger. It's an efficient and effective program, not only to put food on the tables of Americans, but it's also a great stimulus to our economy as that money is spent usually within the first couple weeks that it's received. So, it's definitely an economic booster as well, but not only that, SNAP, like I said before, helps to relieve the strain on our network. So, if SNAP were to be increased by 15%, say, I think the challenges that we are forecasting right now could potentially change for our network to be able to meet the needs and in multiple ways, by providing folks assistance through SNAP, through additional pandemic EBT benefits, and also have the ability for them to go to a pantry when they need to fill gaps and meet their needs that way. Food is one of our most basic needs. Has this world turned upside-down changed how we look at meeting this necessity in our society? Hmm. That's a great question. It's been interesting. The way that our food banks and pantries have had to operate has shifted almost entirely. We've gone from a choice model, which means many of our food pantries were able to provide the opportunity for pantry guests to come in, select the food that their family desires. So, helping to meet their cultural needs, their dietary needs, in a really dignified way. Unfortunately, as we've moved to contactless distribution where folks can drive up or walk up, have a box of food put right into their trunk and drive away, so in order to do those things, to create a safer situation for food distribution, we've had to move to boxes of mixed product, where we are still getting folks nutritional products that hopefully meets their needs, but not in a way that we previously were able to allow them to select that. That said, I feel like there has been a great shift for many community members in how we are approaching food these days. Our food banks used to struggle, for instance, to distribute dried beans. I think as I'm seeing on my own social media, many individuals who are learning how to bake bread for the first time, or cook from scratch for the first time as we're less reliant on restaurants in these times and potentially have more free time. That's definitely not the case for all, but there's also been a shift in the desire for some of these products. We're seeing more folks are more willing to accept dried beans or other products that they might not have had previously. So, it's an interesting shift. One that I can't speak to the full cultural changes about, but it's been really interesting as we're moving food, what kind of food we're able to bring in and what food individuals are able to actually use and are willing to consume for their family. There has been some shifts in that way. Because of the pandemic and everything that has been brought out because of it, are there vulnerable populations that have now become unreachable? Yes. Yes. That's a great question. So, again, like a much of our larger distributions have shifted their models. Our food banks and pantries are also looking at ways that we can reach folks who are homebound due to necessity or due to choice because of their own situations of health that are necessitating them to be in-place and stay quarantined. So, our food banks have done a lot more. We call that Last Mile Distribution. So, getting food directly to the homes of individuals. Our food banks have added many mobile pop-up distributions, getting to communities that didn't otherwise have a brick-and-mortar food pantry, and our food banks and pantries are also doing either home deliveries, I know one of our food banks does weekly deliveries to many senior housing complexes, for instance. So, there are a number of individuals who maybe previously had some challenges in accessing food, and now, especially in the middle of a pandemic are experiencing those additional hardships of leaving their home to secure food. And we're doing what we can to get that to them. If someone watching this is looking for food assistance or think that they might be close to that point, where would you point them to find help? Especially as you have said, this is brand-new territory for a lot of people. Absolutely. So, we direct folks to 211. 211 is a community resource hotline. You can call it from any area of the state and you'll reach your local regional 211 call center. They're open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can provide a lot of information in addition to food resources. So, if you let them know where you're at and what kind of resources you're looking for, they can direct you to the local food pantry in your area, let you know what hours are available, and also direct you to other resources like rent assistance or senior programs, and many of those other things. All right, Stephanie Jung Dorfman. Thank you so much for joining us and telling us more about the food insecurity issues happening right now. Of course. Thank you, Marisa. For more from Here & Now and PBS Wisconsin, you can visit PBSWisconsin.org. And thank you so much for joining us on "Noon Wednesday."