The economic strain caused by the COVID-19 crisis is forcing more people to look for help getting basic necessities like food.
At the same time, local food pantries are struggling to keep up with the growing demand as their own donation sources dwindle.
On Mondays, Resurrection Lutheran Church turns into a food pantry. People often line up outside before they open.
This week, despite the cold, they had to wait outside longer than usual. That’s because they want to limit the number of people inside at once.
Inside, Pastor Karen Perkins used blue tape to mark out spaces 6 feet apart. She handed each person a card with a time written on it indicating when they could come back to get their food.
“There’s certainly been an increase in the number of people who need food and the number of people who are coming to stand in line,” Perkins said. “And in the degree of frustration of not knowing where to go and what to do.”
One of those frustrated people is Mark Swieczwski. He was on his way back home to North Pole after a trip to the Lower 48 when he got stuck in Juneau.
“I missed the ferry in Bellingham to go to Whittier by one day,” Swieczwski said as he stood outside the church.
He said he caught the ferry to go to Haines instead of Whittier, but he got off in Juneau when he realized Canada had closed the border to nonessential travel. He’s not sure whether he would be allowed to cross, but said he didn’t want to chance getting stuck in Haines.
He can’t fly home, because that would mean leaving behind his truck and all the tools he needs for his concrete masonry business. He’s been camping out while he waits for the border to reopen.
“I’m stuck in this place. But I’m trying to make the best of it,” he said. “I’m not trying to make everybody else miserable because I’m miserable. Which is understandable, but you know.”
Bill Quail was also waiting his turn outside. He’s owns a local pedicab company, Southeast Alaska Express Pedicab. He ferries tourists from the docks to different spots around downtown.
Quail said money is always tight just before the tourism season starts. Except this year, he doesn’t know if it ever will start.
“I get my Social Security and my veterans pension, but it’s not enough,” Quail said. “By the time I pay my bills, there’s nothing left over.”
Both Quail and Swieczwski have found themselves in the same situation many other people are facing while the COVID-19 crisis disrupts normal life.
Unemployment claims have skyrocketed across the country as businesses close and people are left without income. Many of them are turning to food pantries to help make ends meet.
Chris Schapp manages the Southeast Alaska Food Bank, which collects and distributes food to more than 30 organizations and food pantries around town.
He said grocery stores in Juneau usually donate items to the food bank on a daily basis, but shelves are getting cleared out by folks stocking up for self-quarantine.
“We’ve just seen a major drop off in the amount of donations, and basically that’s because so many folks have been buying, and you know, preparing themselves, so that we don’t have all the things that we normally get our donations from,” Schapp said.
Individual donations are down too. Many food pantries are run out of churches that have canceled services, so parishioners aren’t dropping off canned goods like they normally do.
The Juneau Community Foundation is now fundraising to help the Southeast Alaska Food Bank buy food to keep its shelves stocked. It’s raised about $10,000 so far.
Executive Director Amy Skilbred said they’ve also donated money to the Juneau School District to help with free breakfast, lunch and weekend meals for students, and to Catholic Community Services for senior meal programs.
“It’s not just the food bank,” Skilbred said. “We know that food insecurity is elsewhere, and we encourage donations both to our food assistance plan and for people to give generously to nonprofits that are on the front line.”
Anyone can donate to the 2020 Food Assistance Fund on the Juneau Community Foundation’s website, or directly to the Southeast Alaska Food Bank through its website or by mail.
