“Hey, good to see you.” the young man says in welcome. “Want a sandwich? I have peanut butter, salami, or turkey.” A gray-haired man with a deeply lined face thinks for a second, shakes his head. “No thanks – wait, yeah, okay. I’ll take a salami.”

It’s 7:30 on a Tuesday morning. The man carries a tray of sausage and eggs to the all-important coffee station, fills a cup, then sits to eat. The sandwich goes into his pocket, saved for later.

When the Samaritan Center began serving breakfast in January 2008, 40 people showed up on a typical morning. Daily attendance now hovers at 100 and on March 31, the center broke records, serving breakfast to 135 people. 

“Attendance at dinner is up too, by nearly 10 percent,” reports director Mary Beth Frey.” For the evening meal, the line stretches far out the door.

At the Samaritan Center, hundreds receive nutritious meals each day.

Dinner is a controlled chaos. In just over an hour, more than 100 people will be served. If there is enough, a cry of “Seconds!” will ring out. By meal’s end, barely a scrap of food will be left. For some, this will be their only meal of the day.

According to Food Bank of Central New York executive director Tom Slater, the increases at the Samaritan Center mirror those at Onondaga County’s 91 food pantries and soup kitchens. The full impact of the current economic crisis is still unclear, but food distribution services are seeing plenty of new faces.

New faces
“We’re seeing people who have been laid off and are coming into the pantry for the first time.” said Margaret Gere-Planer, basic needs coordinator at the Syracuse Northeast Community Center. “And people who used to come in once a month are coming in twice a month.”

A 2006 Food Bank study revealed that 40 percent of households seeking food assistance had at least one employed family member, and 36 percent of all food recipients were children younger than 18.

A system that works
There is good news. Experts consider Central New York to be an exceptionally safe place for those needing food assistance. “Our local safety net capacity is extremely strong, stronger than almost anywhere in the country,” Slater said. “There have been increases in need, but we also have more resources than ever before.”

Onondaga County’s food assistance network is a model of efficiency, collaboration, and community goodwill. Food pantries and soup kitchens can purchase food from the Food Bank at about half the retail cost. If a pantry runs out of food, the Food Bank rushes out a free emergency shipment.

Not just more food, better nutrition
The Food Bank of Central New York is the leading food bank in the country on the issue of the nutrition, Slater said.

“Five years ago, we took a courageous stand not to accept or distribute soda or candy,” he said. “For a food bank, that’s a sin. You are supposed to accept and distribute whatever you get. But these things are accessible and affordable already, while fresh fruits and vegetables are not, especially in the inner city. So we decided to put our resources elsewhere and we got a spark going. Our philosophy has become part of a national strategy.”

“The problem is that most affordable food is often high in fat and low nutrients,” Frey said. “This leads to obesity and a host of other health problems. The perception might be that an obese person is getting plenty to eat, when in reality they may be malnourished.”

The Samaritan Center’s philosophy is to make meals as nutritious as possible, knowing that it could be the only meal of the day.

Getting to the root of the problem
Food assistance programs meet immediate needs, but their work doesn’t end there. “When people in need come in for the first time, they must be served,” Slater said. “Then, the pantry can educate the person on the requirements to return. Ideally, we use this opportunity to discover what’s forced them to come to the pantry in the first place, and refer them to programs that can help.”

Breaking the cycle of needing food assistance should be a priority wherever possible, said Frank Lazarski, president of United Way of Central New York. “To people who don’t like to ask for help in the first place, these questions may feel intrusive. But we want to help them break the cycle of need.”

Tom Slater dreams of the day when the Food Bank of Central New York is put out of business. “We’re very successful at what we do and we have strong support from United Way and the community,” he said. “But my dream for the food distribution system is to see it closed down. A month’s ration of food stamps actually lasts the average family only two and a half weeks. If we put more resources into supporting nutrition through food stamps, there would be no need for pantries. If we have the will, ending hunger is within our grasp.”

Until that day comes, hunger will remain a top priority for United Way of Central New York, Lazarski said. “When you strip away everything else, as a community we must take care of the basics: food, shelter and clothing,” he said. “Our donors want to make sure that these needs are being met. We’re monitoring this situation closely due to the economic crisis. The safety net we talk about appears to be holding. There’s been an increase in need, but so far we can handle the demand. With the great system we have built here in Onondaga County, there’s no reason anyone’s cupboard should be bare.”