food pantry Archives - The Western Howl

What to do when the holiday blues strike

Natalie Dean | Entertainment Editor

There’s no amount of eggnog, Hallmark movies or peppermint bark that can fully cure the holiday blues. There are great parts of the holidays, don’t get me wrong. Half the fun is in buying gifts for family and friends, drinking too much hot chocolate and cozying up in bed to sleep the day away.

The overall Christmas cheer and elaborate colorful lights around town do help ease the gloomy, cold days that have set in. There’s no denying that this year has been a whirlwind, and with everything combined, the encroaching Yuletide can sometimes feel like an emotional tsunami. The reality is that sometimes the holidays are just plain difficult, even if it can generally be a positive time. We’re only human, and everyone is just trying their best with what they’ve got. How we deal with trying times is ultimately up to us, but there are resources available to prepare for the upcoming holidays and New Year.

Financial stress and food insecurity can affect many people during their life, and extra help can be the difference between eating some nights versus not. Western has its own Food Pantry, and updates can be found on their Facebook and Instagram page, @WOUFoodPantry.

There’s also a comprehensive list of food pantries and hunger relief organizations in Marion and Polk County that can be found at https://marionpolkfoodshare.org/get-help/. Services like these are available to anyone facing any level of food insecurity. This website lists the name of the organization, as well as their address and phone number, and their hours of operation.

There are many helplines and text services that can potentially help those who need someone to listen, talk to or get additional help. It can be extremely difficult to ask for help when needed the most, and if you or someone you love could benefit from these hotlines, don’t be afraid to just check these out. If they aren’t quite what you’re looking for, that’s okay too.

SAMHSA National Helpline: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can direct people to helpful resources, treatment facilities and support groups in the area at any time. Call 1-800-662-4357.
NEDA Helpline: National Eating Disorders Association offers confidential support for anyone coping with an eating disorder, or for concerns about disordered eating habits and actions. There’s also a chat option on their website, nationaleatingdisorders.org/. Available 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (ET) Monday through Thursday; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) Friday. For their crisis support, call 1-800-931-2237 or text ‘NEDA’ to 741741.
National Domestic Violence Hotline: Confidential assistance with trained professionals for people experiencing domestic violence, or questioning if they’re in an abusive relationship. There’s also an online chat on their website, thehotline.org/. Call 1-800-799-7233 or text ‘LOVEIS’ to 22522 at any time.
Veteran Crisis Line: For veterans and service members in crisis, there are specially-trained VA responders available at any time. Call 1-800-273-8255 or text 838255.
NSPH Hotline: National Suicide Prevention connects people to local crisis centers and offers confidential support from trained staff at any time. Call 1-800-273-8255.

The holidays are stressful in general and there’s a lot going on in the world, and it’s perfectly normal to have days where you’re feeling anxious or down in the dumps. The holiday blues affect more people than we realize, but if you or someone you love is seriously struggling, please reach out to these resources and to those around you. If it is ever a true emergency, call 911. From one human being to another, just get through the day as best as you can. Acknowledge your needs for today, take care of yourself, and reach out to family and friends. Know that the sun will always rise and set, and we can try again tomorrow.

Contact the author at ndean17@wou.edu

Western’s Food Pantry remains open despite the year’s circumstances

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

At Western, there have been university-wide layoffs, budget cuts and projected program reductions. The Board of Trustees have coined the term “right sizing” for the university. Due to COVID-19, the “adjustment” has been amplified.

Despite the financial circumstances the university is facing, the Western Food Pantry has remained available to community members.

Back in March, when COVID was first documented in Polk County, grocery stores in Monmouth and Independence were cleared of sanitization products, personal hygiene goods and produce. Dissimilarly, Western’s Food Pantry shelves were filled with products for the community.

According to senior applied math major and student coordinator of the Food Pantry Josh Salsbury, the Food Pantry’s “source” — Marion Polk Food Share — donated enough food to roll over into fall term after Oregon’s Joint Special Committee on Coronavirus passed their fourth policy proposal. This proposal was designed to fund food banks.

At the time of the food bank donation, students had mostly vacated campus; however, Food Pantry services are not exclusive to students. The Pantry welcomes all who are in need regardless if they live in Polk County or aren’t associated with Western, Salsbury explained.

After Oregon released its COVID safety guidelines, Salsbury reported that the Food Pantry hastily adapted its services to abide by Oregon law.

“It was a really difficult transition,” said Salsbury. “To illustrate that, during winter term of last year, the Food Pantry had 30 weekly volunteers keeping it open and helping with our services. Due to COVID guidelines and because we weren’t really sure what COVID was going to look like because of how scattered the information was, we went from having 30 volunteers to having maybe four or five.”

In addition to reduced volunteers, it took two attempts to establish an effective COVID-compatible food acquisition system.

“At the start of COVID, the system we had at the time was very rushed because we were trying to make sure we had a COVID-compliant system,” said Salsbury. “We had prearranged bags or food boxes. We had three different options of bags to still accommodate the choice.”

Salsbury explained that the Food Pantry didn’t like the first system because of the fewer options a customer had when they chose from prearranged bags.

Around the beginning of summer, the Food Pantry switched to their final and current system that Salsbury referred to as the “restaurant style” system. When customers currently go to the pantry, instead of the pre-COVID “grocery style” system, they order food off a menu and a worker packs the requested food, rather than allowing the customer to peruse the shelves. This ensures social distancing and limits the amount of people touching the food.

Despite these unusual circumstances, customers have reported the Pantry is maintaining quality service during this time.

“The transition from normal to COVID was pretty smooth,” said community member Shannon Howard. “They did a really good job; I was impressed. They stayed open when I thought they would close.”

Howard reported that although the Food Pantry is receiving only 50% of its funding and reducing staff, he still has access to all the food he needs.

“(It’s a) real big help for me, especially the fresh milk, eggs and cheese,” said Howard.

Howard also commented that prior to COVID, the pantry was actually prepared, citing that the pantry provided sanitizer.

Going forward, the Food Pantry hopes to continue to provide for their community and destigmatize using the pantry. For information on Food Pantry hours and how you can donate, visit https://wou.edu/foodpantry/.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

The Western Howl

Resources for tough times during the holidays

The Western Howl

WOU food pantry continues to provide services despite COVID

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