Social services feel pinch in difficult economy

Cathy Schulz looks at the Crafton-Ingram Food Pantry shelves and winces with worry.

The food pantry coordinator is expecting 60 more families to come by Crafton United Presbyterian Church and request groceries this month. Schulz has enough for 11 families -- maybe.

"I'm keeping my faith that God will provide," she said.

The Crafton-Ingram Food Pantry is not alone. As the economy worsens, winter utility prices rise and employment declines, people on limited or fixed incomes are increasing and seeking services, officials said. Social service organizations are bracing for financially lean times and hope the holidays will bring plentiful donations.

The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is helping about 1,000 new households a month, spokeswoman Iris Valanti said, and with donations down, it relies more and more on purchased food.

The food bank buys about 25 percent of the food it distributes, Valanti said. Its inventory is down 500,000 pounds, compared to this time last year, and the food bank board of directors authorized the purchase of $170,000 more in food to bolster inventory.

"In some ways, as bad as economy is, this is the holiday season and it tends to be a season of giving and sharing," Valanti said. "At the moment, we are on track for our budget, but we don't know how long that will last."

The food bank doesn't plan to cut any services, Valanti said.

Sister Mary Parks, executive director at Sisters Place, said she is unsure the Clairton-based transitional housing program for single parents will receive year-end donations similar to past gifts because the economy took such a hit.

"We have a Christmas appeal," Parks said, "and a lot of people that give at Christmastime said that they won't have the same amount or same need to give because of what happened."

To withstand difficult times, Bethlehem Haven, an Uptown emergency service center for women, isn't planning on making capital improvements or hiring more staff, said Executive Director Lois Mufuka Martin.

"We're essentially having to do a spending freeze just to weather the economy because our donations are down, due to loss in stock market assets," she said.

Martin expects a 20 percent increase in use of Bethlehem Haven's mental health clinic, because of clients who are experiencing stress over their finances, she said. About 440 people used the clinic last year.

"It's not good," she said.

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