Agency’s pantry nearly empty

Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001 | 8:45 a.m.

A month to go before the big food drive and the Salvation Army's cupboard is just about bare.

On paper, the agency has a 31-day supply of food on hand, but that's stretching it; its pantry has no dry goods and a limited selection of canned foods, making it difficult to provide for complete and nutritious meals, officials say.

"On Tuesday we accidentally gave one man eight cans of pumpkin filling, and he brought it back today because he didn't know what to make with it," said Carol Sloan, director of the Salvation Family Services Department for 16 years.

"It is as bad as it has ever been, and that includes two years ago when we ran out of food and had to shut down for one day."

Agency officials say that in the wake of the casino layoffs brought on by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, out-of-work casino employees now account for half of the 200 people seeking food baskets. The agency distributed about 800 food packages in September and expects to far surpass that total this month.

And it is not just the Salvation Army that is hurting.

"We have a little bit of food, and we are not able to replenish it fast enough," said Sharon Mann, spokeswoman for Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada. "People who have been here a long time say it has never been like this where we have hit the bottom of the barrel."

An official for the Community Food Bank says the nearly 30 agencies it helps also are going through food at a fast pace.

"We are keeping our heads above water, but the supplies we provide agencies that have food box programs are going so fast because they are giving to a lot of people," said longtime Community Food Bank Director Bessie Braggs.

The annual Scouting for Food drive by local Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts is slated for Nov. 17. In its 14th year, the drive has generated 963 tons of food for the Salvation Army, which it shares with Catholic Charities and other agencies.

Sloan remembers a time when one big drive would stock the Salvation Army for an entire year. Now, even with record collections by the scouts, the food lasts only through May, as the numbers of needy have boomed along with the population. Other food drives throughout the year help make up the difference.

To make up for the absence of dry goods -- beans, rice and macaroni, for example -- the Salvation Army is giving out extra canned goods. But, with a shortage of canned meats, beans and a variety of other foods, the agency is forced to give mostly canned green vegetables or items such as pumpkin pie filling.

That's not all. The charity is also out of $1.1 million in utility assistance money that was to last through the year, and is low on bus tokens, Salvation Army spokesman Charlie Desiderio said.

The Sept. 11 attacks have been felt at the charity. This month $60,000 of the group's have been earmarked by donors for disaster relief in New York, he said. "So, we also are experiencing a shortfall with incoming money."