The Cooperstown Food Bank limited access to its resources effective Wednesday, said an official who described the change as difficult after 30 years of feeding anyone who knocked on the door.
``It's troubling that we're no longer able to do that,'' said Audrey Murray, co-director of the food bank.
Faced with growing demand and increased costs, the food bank no longer can serve residents from southern Otsego County, Murray said, which is south of Milford. Cooperstown and its churches provide most of the funding for the food bank, which is located at the First Presbyterian Church, and she said it was logical to reduce the service area rather than cut assistance across the board.
Elsewhere in Otsego County, pantries and organizations are experiencing similar increases in demands and needs for food and money, local agency officials said. But plenty of options remain in the greater Oneonta area for families in need, they said, and most food pantries already have guidelines restricting eligibility and/or frequency of visits.
Pantries meet a need when families face job loss, unemployment, unexpected medical bills or other expenses, officials said, and demand will increase as economic turmoil continues and the heating season begins.
In the city, anyone can find a hot meal each day of the week, which is a blessing, said Maj. James Smith of the Salvation Army. Meals are provided at the Lord's Table, 18 Elm St., on weekdays, Saturday's Bread on Chestnut Street on Saturdays and at The Salvation Army on River Street on Sunday.
However, officials said, groups must find ways to promote their services, share resources and increase access to better serve those in need.
The Otsego County Hunger Task Force is working to boost awareness of resources and efficiency in distribution, said Chairwoman Terry Capuano, who is executive director of the United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties. The group formed earlier this year after pantry representatives attended a meeting about government funding for the emergency food and shelter program, she said.
The task force will next meet at The Salvation Army Church at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 29, Capuano said, and the meeting is open to the public. An early venture of the task force was collecting food donations at the Otsego County Fair this year, she said, and a possible benefit later might be shared vehicles to accommodate food pickup and delivery.
Gary Herzig, chief operating officer of Opportunities For Otsego, said formation of the task force is a ``very positive effort.'' Pantries also need volunteers, vehicles and means of distribution, he said.
Murray said the availability of meals and pantries in Oneonta was a consideration when Cooperstown Food Bank volunteers decided last week to serve a smaller area. The food bank was pro-active in reviewing needs, she said, which are expected to increase with winter's heating expenses.
The Cooperstown Food Bank helped 169 families, representing 617 individuals, in August this year, up from 113 families totaling 419 individuals in August 2007, Murray said. In August of this year, 60 of the families were from the greater Oneonta area.
The food bank has sent letters to affected recipients who visited in the past three months, Murray said. If someone stops in from beyond the revised service area this month, a day's worth of food will be given instead of the usual four-day supply, she said.
Murray said the main reason residents say they visit the Cooperstown Food Bank is that it is a ``client-choice food bank'' that allows them to choose items. Clients pick foods based on their diets, allergies and preferences instead of receiving a bag with items that might go to waste, she said.
The Cooperstown Food Bank purchases 90 percent of the food it distributes from the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York in Latham, Murray said, and deliveries for each of the past two months were 13,000 pounds.
At The Salvation Army in Oneonta, between June and August, 754 families were assisted at the food pantry, Smith said, compared with 613 families during those months last year. The pantry generally serves between 200 and 300 families a month, he said.
Smith said funding used to buy food for the pantry won't last. The Salvation Army also receives perishable contributions from Long John Silver's and Elena's Sweet Indulgence restaurants, Hartwick College and other sources.
``The needs are just going to grow greater and greater,'' Smith said. ``We just have to trust in the goodness of the community.''
OFO's Community Connections County Food Bank has food for pantries, Herzig said, and it delivers Regional Food Bank supplies to pantries in Unadilla and Richfield Springs. But otherwise, Community Connections doesn't have a distribution network, he said, which is a limitation because organizations have to make arrangements to pickup supplies.
Herzig said Cooperstown Food Bank's decision wasn't surprising.
``There are more and more people looking for food assistance,'' he said. ``Pantries are really struggling.''
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The food bank restriction means communities south of Milford and in the greater Oneonta area, according to co-directors of the organization. The affected communities include Butternuts, Colliersville, Gilbertsville, Laurens, Maryland, Morris, Oneonta, Otego, Portlandville, Schenevus, Unadilla, Wells Bridge and Worcester.
Otsego County has one food bank "" Community Connections "" and about a dozen food pantries, said Terry Capuano, executive director of the United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties.
Otsego communities with pantries include Otego, Richfield Springs, Schenevus, Worcester, Burlington Flats, Cherry Valley, Oneonta, Edmeston, Gilbertsville, Hartwick, Laurens, Mount Upton, New Berlin and Unadilla, she said.
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