Local Food Pantry Pops Up
The government shutdown that began in October is now the longest in history, and the cascading effects of the shutdown have branched out to every corner of the country. On November 1, funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), what many still think of as Food Stamps, were paused, and SNAP quickly became a hot topic of conversation and concern.
However, amid the chaos and confusion of funding the government and programs such as SNAP, a heartwarming trend struck the nation. Ordinary citizens banding together to fill the gap and provide for friends and neighbors through increased donations to food banks and neighborhood “Little Free Food Pantries.” These little food pantries have been springing up in almost every community, and Adams County is no exception. Locally, neighbors have been stepping up to provide support where the government has faltered. The largest such example in our area is the Council Valley Ambulance’s Little Free Pantry at the Council EMS building.
Many Americans were shocked to discover recently that nationwide, 12.3% of the population, or around 1 in 8 people receive assistance for food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In Idaho, the numbers are slightly less dramatic, with only 6.5% of the population utilizing the program, or around 1 in 15. For Adams County, that equates to 9.2% of households receiving some assistance through the program, at least, until November 1.
Despite the back and forth in Washington D.C. and the pointing fingers on both sides, communities are doing their best to ensure no one goes hungry. “I’m not wanting to have the political conversations with people,” said Council EMT Aubrianna Pate, who spearheaded the Council Valley Ambulance Little Free Pantry. “There’s a time and a place 100%, for those conversations and they’re important, but people aren’t going to listen when their bellies are hungry.”
In Council, the main food pantry is called Loaves and Fishes and runs under the 501c3 umbrella of the Nazarene Church. They are a partner agency to the Idaho Food Bank and receive two shipments a month from the Idaho Food Bank as well as local donations. They distribute on the 3rd Thursday of every month, and haven’t seen a regular distribution since the SNAP funding dried up, but they also do emergency food boxes if requested and have already had a couple this month, something they used to not see very often, according to Chairman of the board, Audette Russel. Russel said she has been visiting with her team about doing an early distribution this month, since they don’t have one officially scheduled until Nov. 20th. One thing Russel mentioned was that Loaves and Fishes does not typically provide food for the whole month, but rather they do boxes designed to feed families for a few days, and provide an extra supplement. It is not a complete replacement for the citizens who rely on SNAP.
While the food banks have one model, another solution has swept the nation, the rise of the “Little Free Food Pantry.” Social media is filled with offerings of food, stories of neighborhood “little free libraries” being converted to food pantries, and other individuals and organizations starting new little food pantries, almost all of which are operating on a “take what you need, leave what you can” basis. Informally, for years one such place in Council where people took extra food donations, extra garden produce, and extra supplies for the community was at the library. Many patrons of the Council Valley Free Library know to stop and check the table in the back to see what food might be available when they come in to browse the books, and Librarian Milise Blanton said in the last few weeks she has definitely seen an uptick of people donating food. Blanton loves that they are able to provide this for the community, however, she stated that one problem they have is space, and she simply doesn’t have room for a larger scale operation.
Enter Council Valley Ambulance! As an EMT and a medical assistant, Aubrianna Pate has seen firsthand through her work how when people aren’t fed they end up in the ambulance. When she realized what was happening with SNAP benefits, she quickly got to work making phone calls and figuring out how she could help support the community. A food bank was a natural idea for her, as Pate’s grandfather was an Episcopalian priest who was active with food banks when she was little, so she was very familiar with the issues. “I’m very passionate about people not going hungry,” she said. Pate thought the EMS building was the perfect place to set up a food pantry, both because it was a public building and they had a lot of space. The other EMS workers agreed, and the full team at the ambulance got to work to help make it happen.
Council Valley Ambulance keeps office hours at the EMS building from 8-2:00 Monday through Friday, and the Little Free Pantry is open while they are staffed. However, Pate also put out her personal phone number so if someone needs to come by outside of those hours she can meet them or arrange for someone else to. She has also been keeping some food in her car, because she works in McCall, she can meet people in New Meadows or further if she gets calls. She wants to remove as many barriers to assistance as she can, and with that in mind, Pate is considering other things she can help people with, such as heating and propane. “How can I feel ethical about giving someone a can of food if they can’t cook the can of food?”
Aubrianna Pate, who in addition to working for Council Valley Ambulance is a Medical Assistant for St. Luke’s in McCall, said she has already started seeing repercussions of the shutdown at her work, and the need is definitely there for the food party. In the first three days after announcing the pantry she had 13 phone calls. She said she has stopped counting now because she can’t keep up, but thinks over 30 or 40 people have utilized it so far. Pate said her employer has been amazing about letting her field calls at work. “St. Luke’s is wonderful,” said Pate, “they are very understanding of what’s going on and they are very supportive, but I also have a job to do.” She said they have also received amazing support locally, with many donations from both individuals and businesses. There are no income or qualification requirements, anyone who is in need may come. “I’m not going to ask who you’re with. I’m not going to ask any questions,” said Pate, “if you’re hungry, I want you to show up, and truly the only question I’m going to ask is ‘Did you get enough food?’”
The Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry also does not have income or qualification requirements. Anyone in need is welcome to come, no questions asked. Audette Russel said one thing that has really exploded since they started the food pantry in 2008 is the number of seniors that rely on the food. “The senior population that comes through is really our biggest population now,” she said. Both Russel and Pate stressed that the people who come to the food pantry are not necessarily the stereotype that many would expect. “These are our neighbors. These are people you’re seeing in the drop-off lines at school. These are people you’re seeing in your churches. These are not random people,” said Pate, “They’re all hardworking people and they all have jobs.” Indeed, there are various work requirements to receive SNAP benefits in Idaho. “It’s not a moral failing when people are working hard and can’t make ends meet,” said Pate.
Russel thinks they have only just started to see the effects. “I’m thinking when we’re really going to see it is in December,” she said, “I don’t know yet how this is going to look.” She is definitely planning on an uptick in need. Pate also sees this as a long term problem, and wants to keep the Council Valley Ambulance Little Free Pantry long term and would like to partner with the Idaho Food Bank in the future as well. Currently though, donations to the Little Free Pantry are not tax deductible like they are for Loaves and Fishes. Pate also wants to expand the ambulance pantry to include things like hygiene products and paper plates. “We can’t call ourselves Council, the caring community, unless we’re doing stuff like this,” said Pate.
While there might be uncertainty in the status of federal funds, multiple members of the Council community are doing their best to help fill the gap and care for their neighbors. Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry is located at 102 S. Exeter St in Council and has their next distribution planned for November 20th from 3:00-4:30 p.m. Questions about Loaves and Fishes or requests for emergency food boxes can be made by calling (208) 253-4576. Donations can be arranged by calling, or can be dropped off behind the building in the cabinet by the back door. Please call before donating perishables. Monetary donations can be sent to their P.O. Box 348. Russel said Monetary donations are helpful because they can purchase things on sale or things that they are not getting from the Idaho Food Bank.
The Council Valley Ambulance Little Free Pantry is located in the bay of the Council EMS building at 106 Industrial Ave and is open from 8:00-2:00 Monday through Friday. Donations and requests for food outside of those hours can be made by calling Aubrianna Pate at (208) 739-0100. A small selection of non-perishable items can be found or donated to the Council Valley Free Library doing their regular hours on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays. All of these resources are free to the community. As Aubrianna Pate said, “That’s all we want is for people to come in here, not feel judged, take what you need.”
