Humanity House staff have a message for those who are struggling financially: We can help with food, so you can focus on paying bills.
The number of people who need help paying utility bills has skyrocketed this year, as families cope with the fallout from a global health pandemic.
Food, though, is much more plentiful at area food banks.
In November, Humanity House helped 50 families pay utilities bills totaling $7,033.88.
A year ago, in November of 2020, they helped 12 families pay $1,680.60 in bills.
“It gives me sleepless nights,” Tracy Keagle, Humanity House founder, said. “On the first day of November, we paid $1,700.”
Many of those who are asking for help have been impacted by COVID-19 in some way, Keagle and Humanity House’s Georgia Masterson, said.
Perhaps they’ve been sick or a family member was sick, and they had to miss work. Perhaps they had to be quarantined and miss work for an extended period of time.
A lot of jobs, especially for low-income workers, don’t offer paid time off. Or maybe that time ran out.
“COVID has made a huge impact,” Masterson said.
THROUGH the pandemic, Humanity House and other food pantries, such as the Allen County Food Bank, have been much more successful in obtaining food to help people in need.
The federal government, organizations and philanthropists expanded food programs. School meals, for example, are currently free.
For several months, food pantries and other places gave away boxes of produce and specialty items. The Iola Area Ministerial Alliance and other groups regularly distribute food commodities.
Some of those programs have expired, but food is still easily available, Keagle and Masterson said.
Holiday food drives already have brought even more help to local food pantries.
