As reported in The Record on May 5, the food pantries in the area have fallen well short of the products and dollars they need to meet the growing need for emergency food aid. An executive with 20 years of experience at the Center for Food Action (CFA) told a reporter that she’s never seen the pantry so bare. Another CFA director said that a recent purchase of cheese for distribution cost the agency $1,800 - an increase of $600 over last year.

Traditionally, the donations that pantries tend to receive via food drives during the fall holiday season, plus contributions from supermarkets and individuals, would create enough of a reserve to last until the following fall. But this year, things are different. The drop-off in food supplies at the pantries can be owed to a substantial increase in the number of families seeking help during the first three months of this year. According to The Record, the CFA, which has seven sites in Bergen and Passaic counties, served 2,655 households during the period from January through March - a 16-percent jump from the same period last year. CUMAC/ECHO in Paterson served 19 percent more households - 5,239 in all - in that 90-day time frame. As such, the pantries find themselves running dangerously short of even the most basic items.

Add inflated food prices due to rising fuel prices and shortages in key ingredients like wheat, and you’ve got a "perfect storm" that threatens the ability of these agencies to help families already struggling to make ends meet.

As is always the case in these situations, one’s ability to help is limited only by his or her desire and ambition. Families who have food and money to spare can donate those; families who don’t can donate their time. Even in this, one of the more affluent areas in our state and even the nation, unexpected developments can strain a family beyond its financial limits. The people you help with your donations might well live next door. And at any given time, the family in need could be your own.

The CFA accepts all kinds of non-perishable food donations, but it especially needs five key staples: soups, canned meat, peanut butter, whole fruit juice, and macaroni and cheese. In addition to food donations, CUMAC/ECHO is also seeking people to help organize food drives.

We’re proud to say that our readers have generally risen to the occasion when called upon to help. We trust you will do the same this time, and we look forward to applauding your efforts on this page in the near future.