SALAMANCA, N.Y. (WKBW) — The increase in the cost of food over the past year is hitting rural communities hard. In many areas, food insecurity is often combined with other struggles - like the lack of transportation. That means a lot of families across Western New York are faced with difficult decisions.
"We're low income here. And people do struggle with paying their bills. Everyday bills," explained Salamanca resident Charles Giambrone.
In Cattaraugus County, where 16% of the population lives in poverty, Connecting Communities in Action (CCA) is seeing that increased need. CCA is one of FeedMore WNY's nearly 400 hunger-relief agencies in the area. FeedMore says in 2022, the number of people getting assistance in Cattaraugus County increased by 13%, and in nearby Chautauqua County it increased by 19%.
CCA is based in Salamanca but works to distribute food to smaller food pantries across the county to get it as close as possible to people who need help - because some can't travel far.
"We don't have public transportation so people rely on their own vehicle. With rising gas prices - what do I do? Do I feed and put food on my table or pay for gas to get to work?" explained Corrie Phetteplace from CCA. "When they come to the food pantry they need those staple items of butter, milk, eggs, cheese because they're so expensive in the stores."
To try and keep up with the increased need, CCA expanded its community garden, which grows fresh fruits and vegetables for the community. The group also has a community kitchen that offers "to-go" meals to those in need. The number of meals they're putting out each month has increased by more than 100%.
"To give you an idea - about two to three years ago we were servicing and putting out about 200-300 meals a month," said Phetteplace. "We're averaging between 700-800 meals a month."
Phetteplace says the organization is focused on the fact that there's no public transportation in most areas, and is working to best meet the needs of people across the large county.
"For those of us in the rural communities access to services is a huge concern," she explained. "How do we fill that gap?"
Meantime Giambrone, who has lived in Salamanca more than 60 years, is encouraging anyone who needs help to try and connect with CCA. He says it's made a big difference for him as he's aged, and he hates the thought of anyone being without.
"Nobody should go to bed hungry. There's no reason why. All you have to do is reach out," he said.
The issue of hunger is being seen across Western New York. In fact FeedMore WNY provided help to 197,567 people in 2022, which is more than the number of people served in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. Organizers say need has increased in every WNY county.
