Several local food pantries may find themselves struggling to support needy families and children, because of struggles the Mountaineer Food Bank itself, which serves 48 counties, has encountered.

Scott Richter of Bags of Bounty/Bags of Blessings approached the Wetzel County Commission Tuesday to request a donation that will enable the programs he represents to continue providing needy New Martinsville Elementary School and Paden City Elementary School students with a plastic grocery bag of food to take home with them each weekend.

In a letter of request from Bags of Bounty/Bags of Blessings representatives, it was noted that nationally, about one in five children do not know from where or when some of their meals might come. In West Virginia, that number jumps to one in three children. “Wetzel County has similar statistics with West Virginia when it comes to at-risk children,” the letter noted.

The letter noted that the Bags of Bounty/Bags of Blessings programs received word on March 11 that their primary source of free or reduced-cost food is struggling with transportation costs. “According to the informaiton we receive, the state-wide food bank, Mountaineer Food Bank, may cease delivering food within two weeks. This will certainly impact food pantries in 48 West Virginia counties, including Wetzel County. Our backpack program will also suffer.

Richter noted that the New Martinsville and Paden City programs have already encountered struggles because of the increase in number of participating children and the increase in cost of food. The first year of the program, 2012-2013, Bags of Bounty had 60 kids that participated in the program. This increased to 90 children for the 2013-2014 school year. This year, the Bags of Bounty program is averaging 142 children.

As to the NMS program, in September of each year, teachers are provided with application forms to send home with each kindergarten through fourth grade child about the program. Due to confidentiality issues, the school is unable to identify those children in any food assistance programs offered by the school; therefore they depend upon returned and completed applications.

Each week, the Bags of Bounty program provides children with food for the weekend. They receive two drinks, two snacks, two breakfasts, two lunches, and two dinners.

As to the PCES program, Bags of Blessings have been supplied to needy students in kindergarten through sixth grade since 2012. Teachers provide a list of students who they believe would benefit from nutritional snacks and meals on weekends. Currently, Bags of Blessings serve 32 students per week from September through June. Ten nutrional items are provided, which include juice, milk, fruit, snacks, lunch, and dinner meals. School supplies are also provided to these students at the beginning of the year.

It was noted that most of the PCES donations are random. On special occassions, teachers are allowed to wear jeans if they donate food items. Special offerings at St. Paul United Methodist Church are also designated for the Bags of Blessings program. Furthermore, other donations are received from generous individuals and churches in the community. However, the program’s funds are dwindling as the end of the school year nears.

Richter requested $2,000 for the Bags of Bounty program and $500 to the PCES Bags of Blessings program “to enable our programs to complete this shcool year without interruption in our food donations to at-risk children.”

Unfortunately, Bags of Bounty and Bags of Blessings are not the only two programs in the county facing challenges.

Linda Goddard of Open Door Ministries noted that her program, which feeds 400 to 450 people every Tuesday, is expecting a truck from Mountaineer Food Bank on March 25.

“They have laid off 17 people,” Goddard stated of the troubled food bank. “They are cutting back on the amount of food that will be delivered to various organizations.”

Goddard stated that Open Door Ministries’ expesnes run at approximately $1,000 per month. “That is in utility bills, take-out containers, and additional foods that Mountaineer Food Bank does not deliver to us.”

“Without Mountaineer Food Bank, it is doubtful we will be able to maintain the meals that we now serve in delivery, eat-in, and take-out,” Goddard noted.

Wilda Church, of WE CARE (With Extra Care Families Are Special, Inc.) in Hundred, noted that she received a letter from the Mountaineer Food Bank which spoke of their troubles. Church noted that the food bank had encouraged food pantry proprieters to contact their respective local representatives to see if they “can help work on it.”

Church noted that the letter she received stated that the food bank hopes to come out of their troubles “stronger.”

“We are still good,” Church hopefully noted of her food pantry. “We still have a truck for this month.”

Calls to the Mountaineer Food Bank were not answered.