BUFFALO, N.Y. — For those who help feed the needy, it's a real dilemma.
There are more people seeking their assistance at a time when it's become more difficult to meet the increased demand, due to supply problems.
Agencies who help those in need often get donations of surplus goods from supermarkets.
However, stores shelves, due to supply chain issues, aren't as packed as they once were, meaning the stores may have less to give.
"Honestly, the supply chain has been a critical problem for us since the begging of the pandemic and it only tends to worsen and not get better," said Tara Ellis, President and CEO of Feedmore Western New York.
"We thought that perhaps we would see improvements in the chain, but it hasn't particularly with critical items with protein like peanut butter, tuna fish and canned poultry."
At the same time that supplies are low, the price of grocery items has soared over the past year, with inflation hovering at its highest levels in 40 years.
The higher cost has pushed a cart of groceries further out of reach for those struggling to make ends meet, and brought more of them to seek assistance from agencies like FeedMore WNY.
"It's just a paradigm that puts our families in a critically bad position," Ellis said. "There are more people coming to all of our programs ... from our backpack programs to our seniors that need home delivered meals. "
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep Brian Higgins visited OLV Human Services in Lackawanna to announce a federal grant totaling more than $3 million to be distributed over the next three years.
I will allow those on public assistance to stretch their food dollars further by matching the snap benefits they already receive, for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables through FeedMore's WNY farm market and the Field and Fork Network.
However, there is still a portion of the paradigm at play. Because it doesn't matter if you have extra dollars to spend on fresh produce and vegetables if there is no supply of them.
"That's why we'll continue to work with all of our collaborators and partners, not only all of the local farms who are always our first go-to, but also local wholesalers to bring produce in from where ever we can get it," said Ellis.
And she seems most determined in that mission.
"We have to forget about organizational names, boundaries, territories, and anything like that," Ellis said. "This needs to be about Western New Yorkers that need help and how we make that happen."
Meanwhile, Feedmore is always grateful donations,