Catholic Charities’ food pantries face changes, costs

PATERSON  Every day, the Father English Center prepares more than 1,000 bags a food for the many people who line up in front of its doors on Main Street in the city. In record numbers, the food pantry, which is part of diocesan Catholic Charities, has witnessed an endless flow of people in need of assistance for basic living expenses due to COVID-19 pandemic and now the exorbitant rise in prices of essentials such as food, housing, and gas due to the highest inflation rate in 50 years.

On May 4, the state of N.J. will implement a ban on plastic bags in an effort to protect the environment from plastic waste filling landfills. This ban also includes other single-use carry-out bags such as paper bags. Food pantries have received a six-month extension from the state on this ban, giving them some time to properly plan for this major change. The state is expected to provide 500,000 reusable bags to food pantries throughout the state. According to Feeding America, more than 1.2 million people are using local food banks in the state.

Carlos Roldan, director of food pantries for diocesan Catholic Charities, said, “As we are now giving 800 to 1,000 bags a food a day, we will need these bags to continue our services and we hope the people of the Diocese can help. When people are asking for food, the bags are one thing they are not thinking about but it’s important we receive them.”

While the intention to help reduce the amount plastic waste will benefit the environment for the future, Catholic Charities will be facing a challenge in implementing this ban in the beginning as they continue to help the most vulnerable in the community. Often, service recipients do not have reliable transportation and must walk to the food pantries. The other two food pantries of Catholic Charities are located at Hope House in Dover and the Partnership for Social Services in Franklin.

Roldan explained some of the different scenarios of the people who use the food pantry and the need for reusable bags. “First, we will need to educate the people to bring them back each time they come to our doors,” said Roldan, “Another issue we will face are those with unstable housing situations. Some are fire victims; some are moving from a shelter and into an apartment, and others are recently released from hospitals or in few cases, prison. We might run into them losing the bags during these transitions and we need to have a constant supply on hand for these situations.”

Buying the bags in bulk will offer a discount, but is still very costly, said Roldan, who noted, “This could cost more in the thousands of dollars to buy the bags,” and often, because there is such a need for food and other causes of Catholic Charities, funding for needs that are more urgent are a priority.

In the past few years, the food pantry at the Father English Center has expanded from a two-room space into a whole gymnasium-size room to accommodate the growing need for those coming for food assistance. The food pantries of Catholic Charities are known as “consumer’s choice” food pantries in which service recipients receive “shopping points,” according to family size that allows them to shop for their needs and preferences just as they would in a commercial supermarket.

Roldan told The Beacon, “80 percent of those we serve are people who are working and they work hard. Often with three jobs just to make ends meet to cover housing. Renting an apartment in Paterson is very expensive. We are grateful for the constant support of the community that helps us help those most in need.”