Food Pantry Assists Hidden Victims of Sept. 11

By Linda Bloom

Date: March 20, 2002

Daisy Nunz is one of the hidden victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. Even before that time, she had traveled from her home on the east side of Manhattan to the west side to draw a monthly allotment of food at the West Side Campaign Against Hunger (WSCAH), the food pantry program at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, United Methodist. But New York's economic slump has cost Nunz her part-time job as a bus matron, making it even more difficult to support her five children, ages 7 to 19.

Her situation isn't much different from those of other customers at the food pantry. Lucy Aponte's husband, the family breadwinner, died in January. Of her four children, a daughter lost a job near the World Trade Center and a son is unemployed. She herself is disabled and can not work.

Isabel Tejada's job at an electronics center in Queens was reduced to part time after Sept. 11, and she was laid off on March 14. Her five-member family lives with another family to survive. Rena Bernal, the mother of two sons, was laid off from a job at a private mail facility but has not worked enough years to qualify for food stamps.

Maxima Javier used her paycheck as a home attendant to pay the rent and other bills and depended upon the food pantry for food. But she has lost that job, and she and her two daughters and two grandchildren -- who moved in with her after Sept. 11 -- also have doubled up with another family. "I don't like that," she says, "but it's a common situation."

The fact that they are all customers at WSCAH, the largest food pantry in Manhattan, is not surprising. Doreen Wohl, who has served as executive director since 1992, notes that the usage patterns at the pantry often mimic U.S. labor statistics on unemployment. The number of monthly meals distributed between July 2000 and July 2001, for example, had almost doubled from about 30,000 to 60,000 -- a jump Wohl attributes to the economic recession. After Sept. 11, the October and November distributions hit an all-time peak of nearly 70,000 meals. Statistics for January and February of this year had settled back to just under 60,000.

The economic impact of Sept. 11 registered at the food pantry within a week, says the Rev. James "K" Karpen, senior pastor of the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew and chairman of WSCAH's board of directors. The first new customers tended to be those in lower-level jobs in businesses directly impacted by the terrorist attacks -- the airline, airport and hotel workers and those employed at companies near the World Trade Center.

"Then the ripple effect began in mid-October as people were laid off in general and the economy took a nose dive," he explains, adding that many of those employees have not found new jobs. "They're going to stay out of work until the economy picks up, probably."

Elsa Rosario has personal experience with the ripple effect. She receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) checks through Social Security, but her daughter used to help her pay her bills. Now, her daughter, a home health aide, has been laid off.

Margarita Rosa, a retired factory seamstress, thinks she may have to go back to work -- if she can find a job. Her daughter, a laid-off home health aide, and her children moved in with Rosa after Sept. 11 and have been trying to survive on Rosa's SSI check.

Johanna Solano, a WSCAH staff counselor, points to "an incredible amount of job loss" in the hotel, retail and taxi industries. One woman she interviewed was pregnant on Sept. 11. Her husband, the sole breadwinner, was an elevator operator in the south tower of the World Trade Center and was trying to get people out of the building when it collapsed. All they found of him, according to Solano, was his hand, still adorned with his wedding ring. "She comes here on a regular basis but has such a tough time finding a job," she adds.

The increase in demand has pushed WSCAH to the brink in terms of funding, and Wohl is grateful to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) for providing a $35,000 grant to buy food through its "Love in the Midst of Tragedy" offering. She and Karpen hope to receive more UMCOR funding, as part of its general response to the effects of Sept. 11, in the near future.

"The United Methodist Committee on Relief has been wonderful and totally essential to meet the increase and need in providing food," Wohl says. "Without it, we would be turning people away."

Linda Bloom is news director of United Methodist News Service's New York office and a member of the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew. This story has been abridged from the original UMNS news release.

Photos: 1. Shoppers and passersby walk past the entrance to the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, the food pantry program at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, United Methodist, in New York. 2. Volunteer Julio Rodriguez (left) checks out groceries for a shopper at the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, the food pantry program at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, United Methodist, in New York. WSCAH, the largest food pantry in Manhattan, has seen the number of monthly meals distributed more than double in the past year. 3. Counselor Johanna Solano interviews a customer at the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, the food pantry program at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew. Credit: John C. Goodwin/UMNS. Click on any photo to see a larger version.

How You Can Help

UMCOR 9/11 Update September 2004: UMCOR's response to the aftermath of September 11 continues. We thank are thankful for all of contributions that United Methodists and others have so generously given.