Feeling the summer squeeze
Photos by DEVIN WEEKS/Press St. Vincent de Paul North Idaho HELP Center staff member Scott Parker dishes up a bowl of Crock-Pot soup his mom made for the center’s visitors Friday as development director Barb Smalley holds the lid for him. The HELP Center is in need of food donations to feed those who utilize the center, many of whom are employed and living paycheck to paycheck or living out of a vehicle because they can’t afford housing.
St. Vincent de Paul North Idaho development director Barb Smalley on Friday discusses the need for food donations in the pantry of the HELP Center in Coeur d’Alene. She explained that the center always feels a squeeze in the summer as more people in need come into the area and fewer people remember to donate.
By DEVIN WEEKS
Staff Writer
COEUR d’ALENE — Scott Parker ladled a hearty soup into a paper bowl Friday afternoon.
"This has rice, vegetables," he said, describing the contents of the Crock-Pot meal his mother made for the St. Vincent de Paul North Idaho HELP Center. "She tries to put together whatever we can get."
Parker's awesome mom contributes her cooking to the center when she can, it's just not enough to feed everyone who uses the center's services each week.
"In the wintertime, around Christmas, people love to give, then they kind of forget about it in the summer," said Parker, a HELP Center staff member. "But the need is still there, and honestly the need is greater in the summer because we get a lot more people who come down out of the woodwork."
St. Vincent de Paul development director Barb Smalley said the center is in need of items such as granola bars, peanut butter, canned soups and chili, crackers, tuna and cup noodles to help sustain HELP Center guests who may be living in their vehicles or simply left without any money for groceries after paying their bills.
"As a courtesy in the mornings, we have coffee and cereal. Nothing fancy," she said. "Right now, we're seeing more and more people. We're seeing a tremendous amount of people living paycheck to paycheck.
"Most people we’re helping are not homeless," she said. "Most people we help are people we’re trying to keep in their homes by giving them that little extra help or helping them find homes. If rent gets raised or somebody’s sick and they have to go without something, if it's food, we want to be able to help them with that."
Smalley said all demographics are being affected by hunger right now since kids are out of school. Seniors and families with children are having the toughest time.
Those who want to help can bring food items or cash donations to the HELP Center at 201 E. Harrison Ave., Coeur d'Alene.
Crock pot meals and other prepared dishes are also welcome. For those who would like to prepare something and bring it in, call the center to make arrangements at 208-664-3095.
"Anything, anything they can spare, we can use," Parker said.