Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, Hungry for Presidential Candidate to Feed Them

Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, June 9 -- The nation is feeling the effects of what MSNBC reports is the worst food inflation in 17 years, and residents of the Lehigh Valley area are no exception. With food prices going up 4 percent in 2007 (as compared to a typical inflation such as 2.5 percent) and projected to increase as much as 4.5 precent in 2008, the presidential candidate with a plan to feed the public may just win the Lehigh Valley.

With the help of manufacturers, distributors, grocers, growers and individuals within the area, Second Harvest Food Bank of Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania is doing what it can to help, but that may not be enough. Second Harvest Food Bank distributes approximately 500,000 pounds of food and grocery products each month.

Pamela Kametz of the Northampton Area Food Bank, a member agency of Second Harvest Food Bank, said that high food prices and a lack of donations are making it difficult to meet the needs of everyone out there, but she was grateful to point out that following a local newspaper story on food shortages, a seventh grade class from The Swain School in Allentown, Pennsylvania, chose assisting the Northampton Area Food bank as their class project. On Friday, June 6, members of this class dropped off two carloads of food and helped distribute it to food pantry patrons.

Those struggling to put food on the table can also reach out for food assistance programs such as WIC, food stamps, and free/reduced school lunches, but each of these programs has their downfall. WIC is only available for expecting mothers, nursing mothers, and children up to the age of five. Food stamps allotments are only modified once a year so as food prices continue to rise, people who count of food stamps will not receive a new allotment until October 1. Free and reduced school lunches are great, but as the 2007-2008 school year comes to a close, parents must now feed their children for the summer.

The major downfall to all of these programs in an area such as the Lehigh Valley is that none of them help the middle class. In its most recent income status publication, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission reported median household incomes of $43,449 in Lehigh County and $45,234 in Northampton County. The maximum annual income for a family of four to be eligible to use a food pantry is $29,016; the maximum annual income for a family of four to be eligible for food stamps is $24,856, the maximum annual income for a family of four to be eligible for WIC in Pennsylvania is $39,220; and the maximum annual income for a family of four to be eligible for free school lunches is $27,560.

The above statistics are compounded by the fact that from April 2007 to April 2008, unemployment in the state of Pennsylvania rose from 243,400 to 297,400 according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With so little out there to help the middle class during this food crisis, some people are turning to their own devices. An anonymous cashier in a Lehigh Valley grocery store recalls seeing a man get stopped for shoplifting recently. "It's sad when you see people stealing food," she said.

As November draws near, whoever can solve the problem of rising food prices, may just win the hearts, and votes, of the Lehigh Valley, PA.

Sources:

AP, "U.S. Seeing Worst Food Inflation in 17 Years" MSNBC

Department of Agriculture

Lehigh Valley Planning Commission

Second Harvest Food Bank of Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania

United States Department of Labor

USDA Food and Nutrition Services

WIC