Every Tuesday and Wednesday, the team at Pernet Family Health Service provides emergency food assistance for families in need. But in the last two months, it's become more of a challenge.

"What we're seeing more acutely right now that we haven't seen really throughout COVID is just us, ourselves, running out of food," said associate executive director Joel Wallen.

What You Need To Know

  • Pernet Family Health Service said they're running out of food during their emergency assistance program

  • The nonprofit provides families in need with food on Tuesdays and Wednesdays each week

  • The Worcester County Food Bank said while supply is fine, they too are seeing an increase in need

  • More than 15,000 families visited the food bank's partner pantries in the month of April

A walk through of Pernet's pantry Wednesday showed how many nearly-empty shelves they have. Wallen said since 2020, they've seen a 100% increase in the number of people collecting food.

With the COVID-19 public health emergency coming to an end earlier this month, the struggle has continued to grow.

"There's a decrease in benefits, an increase in costs," said Wallen. "People obviously talk about food costs, but it's also people's rent increases that effect the amount of money they have available to spend on their food."

The escalated need for food is something the Worcester County Food Bank has been dealing with long before the May 11 emergency deadline. Executive director Jean McMurray said more than 15,000 families visited the food bank's partner pantries in April, and those are the ones who have reported.

Some extra SNAP benefits will end in June, which McMurray believes could drive numbers even higher.

"If your family was receiving $120 extra from the federal government, now you're only getting 40%," McMurray said.

McMurray said the food bank's supply levels are fine, but it doesn't stay as long as it used to.

"It's noticeable," she said. "Normally, we don't have some of these empty spaces that you can see behind me perhaps."

And unfortunately, she predicts a difficult summer for many who relied on those benefits.

"People are always struggling to make those decisions," said McMurray. "Do I buy food? Do I pay my rent? Do I get my car fixed so I can get to work? Do my kids need something for school? So, it's really a lot of hardship for many many families."

The food pantry is in need of several items including cereal, protein items like chicken and tuna, as well as spices.