Paul's Pantry.
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – As people work to get back on their feet after pandemic-related shutdowns forced many out of a job, local food pantries are still seeing a higher number of people than usual.
People in the Green Bay area are still reaching out for help, even with assistance from government entities and other programs.
“Things are a little artificially propped up, but that doesn’t mean we’re not busy. We’re still serving 125 households a day, 5 days a week,” said Paul’s Pantry Executive Director Craig Robbins. “We used to distribute food for three hours a day, now we’re distributing for four hours a day. And that’s for social distancing purposes, we’re only allowing so many people into our waiting room at a time.”
Supporting that many people, however, can be difficult. Especially when the facility is short on volunteers.
“We lost quite a few of our retired volunteers, and they really make a big chunk of our volunteers. Everyone else is at work,” Robbins told WTAQ News. “At the end of August, we were down 11,000 volunteer hours compared to last year.”
Volunteers would start around 7:00 a.m. with stocking shelves and refrigerators. The pantry also needs volunteers who can learn the check-in and interview process to help with getting people qualified for proper assistance.
Robbins also put the call out for food and funds, as they are fully funded through the community – with no government or other support.
But even with those struggles, Robbins is optimistic for the future.
“It’s trending down as the economy has been improving and things are opening up,” Robbins said. “We went from 4,100 households up to 4,500 households. We’re trending back down to about 4,300.”
To learn more about volunteering or applying for aid, visit the Paul’s Pantry website.
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