Catholic Social Services says food pantry in need of donations

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Catholic Social Services said the Saint Francis House Food Pantry is looking bare and needs donations.

Lisa Aquino, CEO of Catholic Social Services, said it’s estimated that 100,000 Alaskans are food insecure, and about a third of those are children.

In the last two weeks, Aquino said the food pantry has been busy. The nonprofit usually sees an average of 1,200 households every month. However, in the last few weeks, it’s seen 350 households a week.

“We sometimes see fewer donations in the summer,” Aquino said. “And I think that people still have great needs in the summer. And then as we get ready for the winter, and the school year, people are thinking about that.”

This shortage is coming as September’s Hunger Action Month is kicking off.

Aquino said it is meant to help people understand what a huge issue food insecurity is.

Catholic Social Services is encouraging people to have conversations about what they can do with a healthy meal.

“We want people to share that message on Facebook, with their children, with their friends, to talk about the issue of food security,” Aquino said. “Because it’s an issue that impacts so many people that live here.”

Catholic Social Services also has stickers that can be filled out and stuck to cans that will be donated.

“We would want it to be overflowing,” Aquino said when asked what she would like to food pantry to look like. “We would want to have so many canned goods, especially canned vegetables, canned proteins, grains, produce. We’d want it to be overflowing with food that we can share.”

She said all the donations go right back out to people in need in the community.

If people want to help, they can bring food donations to the Saint Francis House Food Pantry building during regular business hours. They can also donate money on its website.

People looking for food can stop by the Saint Francis House Food Pantry Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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