In one to two weeks, shelves at least two food pantries in Bradford could be empty, something that local YWCA and Salvation Army officials blame on the state budget impasse.
But state Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, disagrees with the reasoning, saying the state spending plan has been in place since becoming law in early July.
“Most programs and services funded by the state — including our food pantries — have been receiving their funding as scheduled,” Causer said, adding that, according to the state House Appropriations Committee, about $4 million has been distributed to food pantries throughout Pennsylvania.
That’s news to Vanessa Castano, executive director of YWCA Bradford, however, who said it doesn’t seem that the funds have made it to food pantries yet.
“Our contact with this new vendor has told us that there are no funds available through the county since no funds were received by them,” said Bradford Salvation Army Corps Commanding Officer Capt. David L. Means Jr. “It was their understanding that this was because the state budget had not been passed and that the county has not received their funds from the state.”
Whatever the case, Castano said leaders at the YWCA are looking to see if enough private donations exist to make the food pantry solvent through the end of September.
“The last time it was this bad was during the last budget impasse two years ago,” she said.
At that time, the YWCA’s shelves were empty by the end of September, and the organization secured emergency funding through the United Way. That money “took us into the holidays, during which time we received an outpouring of donations that carried us through to the end of the 2015 impasse,” Castano said.
Each month, the YWCA food pantry sees 120 to 150 families.
For July, the Salvation Army filled 199 food orders, Means said. Currently, officials have enough supplies to fill about 75 bags.
State Sen. Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway, also shared some insight on state funding.
“The House must stop delaying this process and needs to fund the budget that 85 percent of their members supported,” he said. “If the House wants to try to balance the budget with more spending cuts, the people of Pennsylvania need to know the precise cuts that they propose.”
Locally, Means called the challenge a very real one. So much so that the organization may be without enough food to provide for individuals, he said.
Means said that local Salvation Army officials are placing their trust in God.
“He knows our needs and it is in times like this that He speaks to people who have the means and resources to help those who are in need,” he said. “So we are reaching out to the community for groups or individuals to organize a food drive to help us meet this hole. It is our hope that the community can help us collect enough food and funds to help us fill our pantry.”
