The ranks of the hungry grow.
“People need to eat every day,” said town Social Services Director Tony Phillips.
Ridgefield postal workers are asking townspeople to leave food donations at their mailboxes this Saturday, May 9, as part of the nationwide letter carriers “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive.
With supplies low at the Ridgefield Food Panty run by the town Social Services Department, the postal workers in Ridgefield will be devoting an increased share of their food collections to in-town needs this year.
Usually Ridgefield gets some of the food, but a good part of what’s collected here is distributed to the hungry though regional charities.
“A lot of the food this year is going to stay in Ridgefield,” said Brian Hamilton, who has been organizing the Ridgefield post office’s participation in the national food drive for 19 years now.
“I’ve been in close contact with Tony Phillips at social services. He was really desperate for food.
“We really need to stock up that pantry, because apparently it’s bare, there’s not much in there,” Hamilton said.
“It’s our residents, so I’m going to make sure our residents get taken care of.”
A recent surge of donations after Phillips began sounding the alarm has helped the Ridgefield Food Pantry considerably, he said Tuesday, but the need remains.
Phillips pointed to a report by the Connecticut United Way on “ALICE” households — families that are “asset limited, income constrained, employed” — and could use help with daily necessities, including food.
“The United Way ALICE report from several months ago suggests there are close to 1,300 households in Ridgefield who are income constrained,” he said.
“We are continually trying to stay ahead of the curve; so that no one in Ridgefield needs to go hungry,” Phillips said.
“So as fast as we can bring in food, we can just as quickly distribute it.”
He did say, however, that townspeople responded well to his recent call for donations.
“When we asked for help, the entire community proudly jumped into action,” Phillips said.
“Almost immediately people started stopping in or contacting us to find out how they could help.
“We’ve had a steady stream of donations coming in since. And the donors range from individuals, anonymous donors, to Scouts, the faith community, businesses, services clubs — you name it,” he said.
First Selectman Rudy Marconi agreed.
“We were down, Social Services had been experiencing a reduction in the amount of food available in the food pantry. Over the last week we have received quite a bit, but cannot receive more than enough,” Marconi said. “Please keep bringing it.”
Phillips said the department’s regular donors have been giving and collecting food.
“The Rotary Sunrise continues with their tradition of their monthly drives, holding one this past Saturday and our pop-up pantry was held today,” he said.
Financial donations had also enabled the pantry to buy food.
“For the first time, we also did a large Peapod order, delivered straight to our Yanity storage,” he said.
“The donations over the last two weeks have helped tremendously,” he said. “Both our pantry and our storage area are in much better shape.”
But the demand has been growing — partly as a result of the department’s outreach efforts.
“The need for food assistance continues,” Phillips said.
Donations to the postal workers’ food drive may be made Saturday by leaving non-perishable food — canned foods, boxes of dry goods — at the household mailbox early enough so the letter carrier will get it.
“Leave non-perishable food items, even if they have some diapers or baby wipes, I’m sure they always can get used,” Hamilton said.
“They can put the food in a little bag if they want, hang it from the base or mailbox, put it inside the mailbox.
“I’ll take one can, I’ll take anything.” he said.
The post office workers will pick up the food on their regular rounds.
“We have 31 carriers,” Phillips said.
“They’ll all be out there.”
This time of year donations can be important to food charities.
“Usually during the winter around Christmastime and Thanksgiving they get a lot of donations, then it kind of dries up before summer.
“That’s why we decided, nationally, this would be the time to start the drive.”
Phillips appreciates the cooperation.
“We are very thankful to have our local postal workers as our neighbors and partners in their effort to help feed our residents with food insecurity,” he said.
First Selectman Marconi said the Social Services Department helps people in a variety of ways.
“One thing that Mr. Phillips has been able to do is realize that when money may not be available for other requirements, like a mortgage or rent or electric bills, food is available that will free up those valuable dollars that can now be reallocated toward other expenses in the household,” Marconi said.
Food is something virtually anyone with a tight budget can use, according to Phillips.
“Generally speaking, if someone comes in to ask for help with summer camp, we often offer the food pantry — because they are likely income constrained,” he said.
“If they need help with rent, we offer the food pantry.
“If they come in for help with applying for energy assistance, we offer the food pantry.
“I think this is the first time the pantry is being used so broadly as a resource,” he said.
“I also see mac ’n’ cheese, peanut butter, and cereal, etc., as currency that can help a family not only eat but also possibly help keep their other bills in check, too.
“If we can help a family with even $40 a week in groceries, they can then put $200 a month toward electricity, produce/meats or rent.”
Pop-up pantries
The Social Service Department has also been conducting “pop-up food pantries” that bring food to people at locations like Ballard Green or St. Stephen’s Church after senior citizen luncheons.
A recent pop-up pantry helped more than 40 households in an hour, Phillips said.
“This ‘pop-up’ method is a relatively new approach here, to reaching people, that didn’t exist in 2008 or even 2012,” he said.
Last fall United Way organizations in Connecticut and five other states released studies on the struggles faced by many working families, an “ALICE” population of people who are asset limited, income constrained, employed. “The report revealed that 35% of households in Connecticut are living paycheck to paycheck, forced to choose between putting food on the table and paying bills,” the United Way said. “This group earns too much to qualify for government support and many social service programs, yet finds it difficult to make ends meet every month.”
In Ridgefield, the study said, 4% of households were in poverty, and 11% were below the ALICE level.
“The United Way ALICE report from several months ago suggests there are close to 1,300 households in Ridgefield who are income constrained,” Phillips said. “So to whatever degree we can, we’ll try to let them know we are here, we want to help, and we can help.”
Letter carriers’ success
Brian Hamilton said the letter carriers’ food drive collected 73 million pounds of food, nationwide, last year.
“In 1992 it started off in one office and it just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger,” he said.
Hamilton said that cumulatively, over the years, the letter carriers had collected 1.3 billion pounds of food across the nation.
Ridgefield has been a part of that.
“This will be 19 years for me and this office,” Hamilton said.
“Last year we collected 16,000 pounds of food.”