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Residents that have been classically defined as solidly suburban middle class are the biggest group of new users at the Niles Township Food Pantry.
The long-term unemployed or those forced to take lower-wage positions after being cast out of well-paying jobs, or have lost homes to foreclosure, have dramatically swelled the ranks of pantry patrons with the peak demand for food necessities still ahead December.
Were seeing anywhere from 40 to 50 new families per month, easily, using the pantry, said manager Cynthia Carranza, who works in an annex building behind Niles Townships administration building at 5225 W. Main St. in Skokie.
As a comparison, the Northfield Township Food Pantry increased from 630 families in August to 652 in September, compared to one or two families per month in more prosperous times.
"There are no more lines in the sand. No more classes, no more lines. Its equal. Theres no particular race, religion, color or creed. No particular class thats coming here."
Twenty [new] families would be a slow month for us, said Carranza, who started at the pantry in late 2006. I got in right when everything broke. After the end of 2007, that was [the start of heavy demand].
Nationwide, 45 percent of the estimated 50 million Americans who are considered food insecure, or have trouble getting enough to eat at times, are ineligible for food stamps because their income exceeds the eligibility limit in their state, according to Feeding America.
More than 4,300 served at peak
Last December, the pantry served 1,841 households, totaling 4,358 individuals. In August, the pantry served 1,296 households, totaling 3,411 individuals.
read more Township Food Pantry Seeing More Middle Class Families - Skokie, IL Patch
The long-term unemployed or those forced to take lower-wage positions after being cast out of well-paying jobs, or have lost homes to foreclosure, have dramatically swelled the ranks of pantry patrons with the peak demand for food necessities still ahead December.
Were seeing anywhere from 40 to 50 new families per month, easily, using the pantry, said manager Cynthia Carranza, who works in an annex building behind Niles Townships administration building at 5225 W. Main St. in Skokie.
As a comparison, the Northfield Township Food Pantry increased from 630 families in August to 652 in September, compared to one or two families per month in more prosperous times.
"There are no more lines in the sand. No more classes, no more lines. Its equal. Theres no particular race, religion, color or creed. No particular class thats coming here."
Twenty [new] families would be a slow month for us, said Carranza, who started at the pantry in late 2006. I got in right when everything broke. After the end of 2007, that was [the start of heavy demand].
Nationwide, 45 percent of the estimated 50 million Americans who are considered food insecure, or have trouble getting enough to eat at times, are ineligible for food stamps because their income exceeds the eligibility limit in their state, according to Feeding America.
More than 4,300 served at peak
Last December, the pantry served 1,841 households, totaling 4,358 individuals. In August, the pantry served 1,296 households, totaling 3,411 individuals.
read more Township Food Pantry Seeing More Middle Class Families - Skokie, IL Patch
