The last USDA Farmers to Families food box distribution of 2020 at Beyond 4 Walls Church in Gary takes place Wednesday.

The Rev. W. Maurice White said the church has been designated a site through 2021 and expects to resume distributions in January. The church distributes more than 1,100 food boxes each week.

“My prayers are that funding is going to be there and be in place so everything does start back up in time in the month of January,” White said.

White said he had heard that funding was running short and some areas of the country were already experiencing shortages, he has been told the church will continue to receive product and he is hopeful that will be the case after the holidays.

“I have been hearing different things. We are in play to be able to receive food again. There are places that don’t have food. Our site does have food,” White said.

The church has been a distribution site since the early days of the program. Volunteers from the church unload the delivery and load the hundreds of vehicles that drive through the parking lot each week. White said the church had to hire security to help direct traffic because the line for food is so long. Now that the weather has changed, volunteers and workers have had to at times jump batteries for the people sitting in line.

“Our site is overrun. This should just go to show you how widespread the hunger issue is in USA at this time. We pride ourselves on outreach. Our site is really pivotal,” White said. The church is located near Interstates 65 and 94 and Indiana 20, which provides easy access for anyone from the Region in need.

“I’m hoping what they are saying with us comes true and we are going to get it after the first of year,” White said.

Victor Garcia, CEO of the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, was not included in this last phase of Farmers to Families food box assistance offered through the USDA. Garcia said the boxes were a significant source of fresh produce and protein for its weekly mobile markets and it will be missed. The Food Pantry distributed between 2,000 and 3,000 boxes of food from the program weekly.

“We have not been receiving them. It has a very significant impact on our serviceability,” Garcia said. “We have not seen a decrease in demand for the mobile market.”

Mobile market participation has increased almost five-fold over 2019 when approximately 3,000 people a month tapped the service. The Food Bank now is consistently serving about 15,000 people struggling with food insecurity each month. He said people are turned away at about 90 % of the mobile markets because the food has run out.

Garcia said 2019 was a record year for the need of its services and 2020 will greatly eclipse that demand. The food bank had provided about six million pounds of food in 2019 but needed about 17 million pounds to satisfy the 3,000 clients a month.

“Now since COVID the numbers are even worse,” Garcia said. More pounds, about 10 million, of food will be distributed by the food bank this year than last, but it is a fraction of what is needed due to the increase of those in need.

About 40% of those new clients are people who have never used the charitable food sector in the past, Garcia said.

“We are seeing a new clientele this year,” Garcia said. He encouraged anyone experiencing issues with food insecurity to not be embarrassed and reach out for help. “Food insecurity looks like everyone.”

He is hopeful a new round of CARES Act funding is approved that will provide funding to the programs the food bank needs to meet the demand.

“We are on the verge of a food cliff. We don’t know what to expect,” Garcia said.

Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.