CATTARAUGUS — Dr. Elizabeth O’Neil, director of the Cattaraugus Food Pantry, is very concerned about the lack of food items on the shelves.
“Our shelves are bare,” O’Neil said while standing in the Cattaraugus Food Pantry on Mill Street. “I don’t know what’s going on. We’re running low on cereal, we’ve got very little meat, no dairy, no cheese. We’re low on canned goods.”
No one at FeedMore WNY, the primary supplier of food to Western New York food pantries, could tell her what the problem is or when it will get better, O’Neil said.
The computer system was saying some items weren’t available after they had been ordered.
“I don’t think we’ll have enough turkeys for Thanksgiving, but I’m looking beyond that,” she said.
The Cattaraugus Food Pantry helps about 140 area families as well as other local food pantries, O’Neil said. Besides food and produce, they offer hygiene and other personal care products. It runs with 10-12 volunteers.
The food pantries don’t seem to be able to get the same deals with large corporate stores like Target and Walmart that they used to, O’Neil said.
The food pantry stuffs 100 backpacks with healthy snacks and a meal for students at Cattaraugus-Little Valley Elementary School, but those supplies are getting sparse as well.
O’Neil can use FEMA money for food, but not snacks for students. They have depended on donations and low-cost snacks to meet the quota. The amount being spent can’t be sustained. Next Wednesday is the food truck drive-thru.
The Cattaraugus Food Pantry accepts donations through its Facebook page and checks at 26 Mill St., Cattaraugus, NY 14719. Donations can also be made in the name of the Cattaraugus Food Pantry through FeedMore WNY.
“I’ve been doing this since 2009 and I’ve never seen it this bad,” she said looking over bare shelves in the food pantry. “It does not look good and I am getting nervous.
“What do you do when the neediest people who come in and we can’t help them?” O’Neil added. “People come to us in crisis. We want to help them get over the bridge.”
Responding to concerns raised by local food pantry officials, FeedMore WNY spokesman Catherine Shick said a transition to a new computer system in the group’s Buffalo warehouse was to blame for many of the partners’ concerns.
“We’re experiencing some bugs,” she said in a telephone interview on Friday. “We’re working with a third-party vendor to get it fixed.”
The supply chain has also been disruptive for some products.
When the bugs are ironed out, partners like the local food pantries will be able to order more products. “We are doing everything we can to make more products available to them,” Shick said.
“We will continue to communicate with our partners,” Shick said. “Our goal is to feed people.”
