Staff Writer

After her daughter-in-law's unemployment ran out in September, Ella Wilkie was unsure how her family would get by.

She credits the Osceola County Council on Aging for getting her through the rough patch by providing her with bags of food from its food pantry.

Wilkie, 76, of Kissimmee, stretches the packages filled with cans of carrots and boxes of dried pasta she can pick up from the agency once every two months per policy. She recently received two packages of chicken – a rare commodity as the council usually lacks the capability to store and pass out perishable food – and a large paper bag of nonperishable goods.

“There was no food in the house,” Wilkie, a retired nurse who lives on Social Security benefits, said. “They really helped out.”

While food pantries often see an influx of monetary and food item donations during the winter holiday season, the council and other food banks rely on community partners and government subsidies to feed the hungry.

“Donations and volunteers peak in the fall and during the holidays, then dies down,” Carmen Carrasquillo, the council's chief operations officer, said. “However, we have a great community.”

According to Rob Dent, council director of communications, the agency receives food donations from large annual food drives through the Osceola Boy Scout annual Scouting for Food in November and the U.S. Postal Service's annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive May 14. Both drives coordinate with the Council on Aging, Dent said.

However, the food goes fast and more is always needed because the demand is higher than ever, Dent said.

“No matter how much food we get in, it gets depleted very quickly due to the need in our community,” Carrasquillo said. “It breaks your heart when the families come in with little kids who may be going hungry or disabled adults.”

The council also distributes food to 15 other Osceola County food pantries; in 2010, 850 families received 39,883 food baskets from the various pantries, according to the Emergency Food Assistance Program, a government agency that issues food to community food banks for distribution.

The St. Cloud Food Pantry, made up of a network of seven St. Cloud churches, allows city residents to pick up two “big bags” of food plus perishables, such as eggs, butter, hot dogs and bread four times a year, assistant coordinator Marvin Chase said.

“It just depends on what we have available,” he said. “We shop just like everybody else.”

Pete Barber, coordinator of the pantry, watches weekly sales and works with Rife's Market and the local Save-A-Lot to stretch their dollars as far as possible to provide for the community.

“I believe nobody in this country should be going hungry,” Chase said. “Everyone should take care of their community. I'd rather see 1,000 people (donate) one dollar than one person (donate) $1,000 because that means all those people are trying to make a difference.”

The seven churches rotate volunteers weekly and serve 30 families a week. Chase estimates the pantry passes out 40 tons of food a year.

The St. Cloud Food Pantry, which also benefits from the local Boy Scout food drive each year, is at 901 Missouri Ave., and is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Call 407-892-7070 for more information.

Running on volunteers and donations

The Council on Aging retains volunteers from AmeriCorps to make food bags and distribute them to clients.

Reimanuel Carrasquillo has volunteered at the council for seven months and is one of eight Americorps volunteers who follow a nutritional balance chart to add a mix of fruit, vegetables and grains to the bags and often carry them to the clients’ vehicles. Volunteers also sort donations to ensure nothing is expired or opened.

“It makes me feel good to give food out to the public because their family is hungry,” he said. “We serve the needy and the deserving.”

Because the council knows asking for food can sometimes be a “humbling and humiliating” experience,” Dent assures prospective clients that council staff members want to help them “maintain their dignity” and help anyone who needs it.

“I try to give them as much information as I can so they are informed and get the help they need,” Gladys Wilson, the council's receptionist, said, adding the majority of the calls she answers are residents looking for food, as many as 50 calls per day, and at least 20 daily walk-ins.

“It's at a much higher volume. It's non-stop,” Wilson said. “If I can't give you food, I can give you the information and usually when they leave from here, they're more informed and happy.”

Carmen Carrasquillo said she wants the public to realize how easy it is to help – she suggests donating items stores promote on buy-one-get-one-free deals – and that the people needing help often have jobs and can be anyone's neighbor.

“A lot of people are the working poor,” she said. “They can barely make it with their earnings.”

Qualified families can pick up food baskets once every two months and must complete a government form and provide identification proving Osceola County residency. Food bags, pre-made with enough non-perishable food for four people for four days, can be picked up Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Barney E. Veal Center, 700 Generation Point, Kissimmee. Call 407-846-8532 for more information.