NAPLES — Unemployment filings are growing by hundreds of thousands of people every week in Florida, but as they wait for that assistance, many of them are just worried about where their next meal will come from.
That’s why food pantries have been seeing a huge increase in demand for their services. Kim Schul is the Executive Director at the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Naples. She said the amount of people who need the food at their pantry is much higher than it was two weeks ago.
“We’re doing 40 percent more in food per day, and we’re doing, I can’t even imagine. We’re doubling the requests for rent," said Schul.
Schul said they don’t let people inside anymore to keep social distancing in place.
“We’re having to serve people bags, so we’re putting in all the necessities, and then we’re having the individuals come and we’re giving those bags away," said Schul.
But those bags aren’t endless, and Schul said this increase has got her worried about meeting the need that could be coming.
“At some point the money runs out," said Schul.
That’s where Bill Allen comes in. He was just hired last year as a Development Director to help with community outreach and fundraising. He just didn’t think he’d have to work this quickly.
“We’d be out there in the summer asking them to give more. We’re out there now asking them to give more," said Allen.
Schul said they’ve also applied for government grants. She’s hoping to see an increase in support in the coming weeks so the shelves can remain stocked.
“Our thought process is, it’s only about to get worse," said Schul.
if you want to help by donating or volunteering, you can visit St. Vincent De Paul’s website by clicking here.
