As of Jan. 1, Second Harvest will begin charging emergency food pantries a 5 cent per pound handling fee for much of the food it supplies to local food pantries. The year-old West End Food Pantryin Eldred Township gets most of its food from Second Harvest.

Paul Lynch, executive director of Second Harvest, explained that the handling charge is nothing new.“We are all part of Feeding America,” Lynch said.“Feeding America has over 200 food banks throughout the country. Most of those food banks charge a flat fee of 19 cents per pound for the food that is supplied to local food pantries, soup kitchens, afterschool programs and senior centers. We are one of the few that has not been charging anything to emergency food pantries.”Lynch said that Second Harvest used to charge 16 cents per pound for all of its clients, but when the recession hit in 2008 they eliminated the charge to emergency pantries. Nonemergency clients have been paying the fee all along.Also, organizations that receive state-funded foods does not pay a fee. The WEFP does not receive state or government funded foods through Second Harvest.Lynch said the county commissioners control who receives those funds in Monroe County.WEFP is considered a donation-only food pantryand do not get grants from any government source.“It’s a huge stress to a ‘donation only’ pantry just trying to get food that typically would be discarded into the hands of those struggling in our local community,” said WEFP director Karena Thek.In the past, the WEFP has paid $25 per truckload for food delivered to the pantry, but has not had to pay for food that volunteers pick up from Second Harvest.As of October, WEFP had distributed 135,388 pounds of food,fed more than 10,000 people and had a list of 652 qualified families in its database.At 5 cents per pound, WEFP is looking at an additional $8,000 per year in operating costs if the program does not grow. Thek believes that number to be more likely around $10,000 for 2017.“Our little $500 and $600 fundraisers aren’t going to cut it,” Thek said. “Our plan will have to be multifaceted, including fundraisers, finding corporate support and seeking other avenues of receiving food donations.“Ultimately, this handling fee only hurts those already hurting in our area. There is no doubt for budget reasons we will have to be strategic on how much we order and what we order. I believe ‘heavy’ products, such as frozen meat, will probably end up in landfills once again.”Lynch is also concerned with the impact that the increase will have on the local food pantries, but knows that his agency has also experienced growing pains.Lynch said Second Harvest feeds 65,000 people per month. Half of those served are children and senior citizens.Second Harvest recently moved into alarger warehouse and employs truck drivers, forklift operators and an administrative staff to keep the food flowing into the communities it serves.“We are lucky. We live in a very generous community,” Lynch said. “I often tell people who want to donate directly to us to donate to their local pantry, or they can send us a donation and mark which pantry they would like the money to go toward and we will put it on account for the pantry.”This is the time of year that pantries and food banks receive the bulk of their charitable donations for the year. Lynch said that it is a little early to tell for sure, but it looks like this year will be similar to past years in terms of donations. Lynch said that luckily every year more money is donated than the previous year, and that helps.Lynch recently obtained a grant for WEFP through Partners in Caring. Kinsley’s ShopRite will be providing the pantry with a $2,500 grant in the new year, which will help to offset some of the new fees.Lynch also said that Second Harvest will still have some free options for its clients to take advantage of, including “Free Fridays” where pantries come on a first-come, first-served basis and can select from a group of food items at no cost to the pantry.In addition, even though Second Harvest is permitted to charge a handling fee up to 19 cents per pound for the bulk of the food it supplies, it has committed to keep the fee at 5 cents for the next two years.“We don’t want anyone going without food,” Lynch said. “No agency will be cut off because they can’t pay the fee. They need to contact us so we can find a way to work things out.”