OMAHA, Neb. -- The number of Nebraskans not sure where their next meal would come from was on the decline in 2019, but that was before the coronavirus pandemic upended the nation's economy, sending millions of Americans into unemployment lines.

Mike Hornacek, president and CEO of the group Together Omaha, said September was the busiest month on record for his Omaha-based food pantry. Since March 16, Together has provided food to 127,000 visitors.

"The hunger and food-insecurity need has continued to skyrocket," Hornacek observed. "It is worse now than at what we thought was the peak of the pandemic back in March, April and May."

Hornacek's group is marking National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week with a virtual fundraising event at togetheromaha.org.

In previous years, Hornacek encouraged people to come out and volunteer, but for health and safety reasons, he said financial support is the most effective way for Nebraskans to help their struggling neighbors.

Together also has provided $830,000 in rent and utility assistance to some 2,000 households since the onset of COVID-19. Hornacek said families in places such as Omaha and Lincoln can turn to nonprofits for emergency assistance, but that's not always the case in rural parts of the state.

"We've seen people driving from very far distances to get food from us, farther than we've ever seen before," Hornacek explained. "The pandemic is exposing the limitation on resources when you get outside of the metropolitan areas."

Together currently serves some 250 cars per day, Monday through Friday, at their converted drive through pantry, but Hornacek warned working outside can only last so long.

The group recently purchased a building next door, an unexpected expense, to expand to 10,000 square feet for safe indoor service when winter arrives.

"While we did the big pivot to the drive-through pantry, we've been working ridiculously fast to hit a January 4th deadline," Hornacek explained. "And we're crossing our fingers and toes that Nebraska weather is really nice to us between now and then."


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A fundraising effort is underway for a new community farm in Petersburg.

The Central Virginia Agrarian Commons aims to raise about $137,000 to purchase the roughly five-acre plot, which it will then lease out to a Black-owned farming enterprise for the next 99 years.

Tyrone Cherry III, project co-leader on the Petersburg Oasis CommUNITY Farm, has spent years building and supporting community gardens around the city with the Petersburg League of Urban Growers. He said the new farm would help address the city's issues with food access, but is also an important symbol of growth for the area.

"Petersburg is growing, and this community farm is a testament to that," Cherry asserted. "That's why we're calling it the Petersburg Oasis. We want to remind the community that, yes, we are in a situation that's called a 'food desert,' but we can grow an oasis here in the food desert together."

The farm will be located next to an elementary school where Cherry used to teach. According to the fundraiser's website, the project aims to provide education programs for those students and serve as an incubator and educational resource for early-career farmers.

Duron Chavis, the project's other co-leader, contends the operation will also create numerous environmental benefits for Petersburg. He said farms in urban areas help control stormwater runoff by laying down soil and plant life to capture water, something concrete-based cityscapes cannot do.

"These spaces act like a sponge," Chavis explained. "And are able to keep the water and any pollutants that might come from the streetscape from getting into our rivers and lakes."

Chavis noted the operation will help new farmers access land, one of the biggest hurdles for those looking to enter agriculture. He added they are hoping to split up the property into multiple plots to support early-career farmers.

"How can you develop a customer base and hone your practice and your system of farming if you don't have land that you can reliably be able to farm on for at least a year, two years, three years?" Chavis pointed out.

The organization has raised nearly $63,000 so far. Including the cost of the land and a farm endowment, setting up the Petersburg Oasis CommUNITY Farm will cost about $200,000.

Food banks are struggling to keep up operations as they contend with rising fuel costs, inflation and an uptick in demand driven by the end of pandemic-era food assistance.

Supply-chain issues have tightened the flow of donations at God's Pantry Food Bank in Lexington, said chief executive Mike Halligan, and getting a variety of food products has been a challenge. He said expiration of the Commonwealth's Emergency Health Declaration in the pandemic has stopped supplemental SNAP benefits to households already pinched by cost-of-living increases.

"So their economic impacts are tighter," he said, "and they have to cope with the inflation and the tightening supply chain when they have less benefits to spend."

Nationwide, federal figures show, food insecurity is on the rise, especially among children. In 2020, more than 6 million kids experienced hunger. Kentucky families who need help can text the word "FOOD" or "COMIDA" to 304-304 to find a nearby site to pick up free meals. The food sites are operated by No Kid Hungry Kentucky and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's summer meals program.

Halligan said the cost for fuel for Food Bank trucks to deliver food to communities across central and eastern Kentucky also has risen significantly.

"Our fuel costs are increasing 15.2%, to almost a quarter of a million dollars," he said. "That's up $32,000 from what it was a year ago."

Along with donations, Halligan said food banks are seeking volunteers to help with food distribution during the summer months.

"It's because those with families who are not in school over the summer don't have access to the National School Lunch Program," he said, "and so the food bill for households with kids goes up in the summertime."

Federally funded child nutrition COVID-19 waivers are set to expire on June 30. Most Americans say they support expanding SNAP benefits permanently, according to a survey earlier this year by the Purdue University Center for Food Demand.

At the end of June, waivers allowing the federal government to provide free school meals to all children will expire.

As the programs return to pre-pandemic norms, Iowa families struggling to secure enough food are encouraged to explore options.

Temporarily removing income requirements allowed families negatively affected by the pandemic to access these meals during school and over the summer, but resuming eligibility rules comes as rising grocery costs take a big bite out of household budgets.

Annette Hacker, vice president of communications for Food Bank of Iowa, said it is especially hard on families with earnings barely above the income threshold.

"With rising food, fuel and housing prices, and inflation at a rate that we haven't seen since 1979, it's become more and more difficult for families -- working people -- to afford food," Hacker observed.

For households with children who do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals, they can research local pantries, including ones tied to schools, through the Food Bank of Iowa. She cautioned local sites can have varying hours and requirements, but rarely turn people away.

Despite the end of federal waivers, the Des Moines school district will continue universal meals this fall.

Feeding America, which leads the network of organizations Food Bank of Iowa is part of, recently called on Congress to extend the waivers for at least another year. Others have called for permanent universal free meals.

And Feeding America points out that the with more than 1 in 5 children in the U.S. living in a food-insecure household, the National School Lunch Program plays a key role in the healthy development and educational outcomes for low-income children.

Meanwhile, Hacker notes some families are losing a critical lifeline right now.

"We know that means that during the summer, parents have to come up with an extra minimum 10 meals per-week per-child at a time when groceries have never been higher," Hacker pointed out.

The Biden administration pushed for extensions this year, but differences in Congress halted the plan. Some Republicans have argued it would require spending for a number of families who do not need it.

Supporters of universal meals say they reduce stigma by guaranteeing a meal for every student while reducing administrative burdens for school districts.