For Jack Pflanz, the fight against food insecurity in children is personal.
“I went to bed hungry more nights than I care to remember,” he said. “I can remember not being able to concentrate in school, not being able to study well, not being able to recall facts for tests because of hunger."
Now, Pflanz is the Director of Fund Development and Communications for Erin's Angels, an organization named after 11-year-old Erin Maxwell, an Oswego County child who died in 2008 from severe abuse and neglect.
During the school year, the organization provides about 500 bags of food per month for students in the Phoenix School District to make sure they have enough to eat on weekends and school breaks.
But Pflanz said summer is a different challenge.
"School's no longer there, but hunger doesn't go away,” Pflanz said. “Now, kids don't have access to those breakfasts and those lunches at school, so now what do they do for food?"
Instead of providing food backpacks to schools to distribute during the summer months, Erin's Angels' volunteers pack and deliver food directly to the homes of students.
The organization also changed its food pantry to allow families to make appointments. A year ago, about 40 families a month used the pantry. Now, Pflanz said the pantry helps about 100 families each month.
“Who are going to be our community leaders in the next 10, 20, 30 years?” he said. “Who are going to be the people working jobs in the community, buying homes, buying mortgages, paying taxes? So, it's absolutely essential that we feed the future of central New York."
The Food Bank of Central New York is seeing a similar spike in need.
“We saw a tremendous increase this past fall when the government shutdown happened, and for the first time in the program history, SNAP benefits were not sent out on time to individuals and families that are relying on them. Really since then, the need has continued to remain high,” said Lynn Hy, Chief Development Officer at the Food Bank of Central New York.
In the 2018-2019 fiscal year, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the food bank provided 15 million pounds of food. Hy said during the current fiscal year that is just wrapping up, the food bank provided 23 million pounds of food to the community.
And as new regulations in the SNAP program begin to take shape, Hy says the food bank is preparing to serve even more families.
"We want to be able to address the needs of the community, get that healthy, nutritious food out there, but also look at interventions and new ways where we can meet people where they are," she said.
To learn more about Erin’s Angels and how you can help, click here.
To learn more about the Food Bank of Central New York and how you can help, click here.
