‘Shortage’ plea highlights food insecurity in region
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A recent Facebook post highlighted a need in the Dunkirk community that stretches far beyond just the city itself.
The Chautauqua County Rural Ministry shared that it is "facing a critical food shortage". The shelves of its food pantry were nearly empty as a plea went out to the area to help.
In the days that followed, the community responded tremendously.
"We're fortunate that people want to help us. The response has been incredible," said Bridget Majka, Executive Director of the Chautauqua County Rural Ministry. "The amount of people who have stopped in or have called us to see what we need, I've never seen anything like it, honestly, these past couple days. It's been amazing."
While the community came through in the moment, the issue is anything but solved.
This past week, the Rural Ministry's food pantry shelves were nearly barren because of the increased demand for assistance. In just one day, 40 families were fed through the food pantry, 20 new people came for lunch in person, 120 lunches were provided, and 100 takeout dinners were distributed.
"We have some hard days around here, and we have people that come in here and have very hard days. It's wonderful to know that there's other people out there that support us," Majka said. "It makes all the difference."
Majka said over the past 10 months to roughly a year, the Rural Ministry has seen an increase of about 30% in people who are utilizing their food programs.
"Obviously, we didn't foresee that much of an increase," Majka said. "This has been a huge increase."
The need is growing to levels higher than ever before, and it is not unique to Dunkirk.
"We are seeing increases across the board in the four counties we serve," said Catherine Shick, Chief Communications Officer of FeedMore WNY. "Food insecurity continues to remain a problem throughout western New York, and across the country."
FeedMore WNY serves four counties across the region -- Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Erie and Niagara counties. Shick said many factors play into the growing needs of the people FeedMore serves, including the cost of living and changes to SNAP benefits.
Majka agreed that rising costs play a factor, and changes to SNAP benefits also make a difference. She added significant tax increases to the communities in both Dunkirk and Fredonia also plays a role.
"People are choosing to pay their taxes, their mortgage, or their utilities. Food, as we've seen, is the bottom line because they know that there's places where they can get some help," Majka said.
FeedMore WNY has seen a 43% increase in the number of Chautauqua County residents who rely on its food assistance programs from 2021 to 2025. Across the four counties FeedMore serves, there was an increase in food pantry usage over July and August of 4,600 additional visits this year compared to the year prior.
Last year, FeedMore WNY served approximately 16,000 Chautauqua County residents. The latest data from the Feeding America Map the Meal Gap pinpoints the food insecurity rate in Chautauqua County at 15.7%.
"It's an increasing need. We've seen a lot of new people -- people who I've never seen in here before," Majka said.
Majka said all of the food programs at the Rural Ministry have been busy lately, but the food pantry itself is not heavily funded, making the recent demand even more challenging. FeedMore does not support the food pantry because it supports another nearby pantry, but FeedMore does assist with the Friendly Kitchen to provide hot meals for guests who visit in person.
"They are amazing to us," Majka said of FeedMore. "They are amazing to everybody. I've never heard anything bad about them."
Including the Rural Ministry's Friendly Kitchen, FeedMore WNY supports more than 40 agencies in Chautauqua County with food and resources, such as food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, group homes and schools that serve people in need.
Shick said, "Many families are one missing paycheck or unexpected crisis away from needing assistance."
Shick added the holiday season is a busy time in the year for food pantries and other programs, as the rising cost of living and cost of goods adds to the burden around the holidays.
"Certainly, this time of year, people are struggling to make ends meet, coupled with the additional pressure of the holiday season," Shick said. "With the cost of living and changes to SNAP, we've absolutely seen rises to food insecurity in terms of our service numbers."
Last year, the Rural Ministry served more than 200 families for Thanksgiving, and they expect to surpass that number again this year. As the holidays approach, the Chautauqua County Rural Ministry welcomes donations to its food pantry to support the needs of the community.
Food donations can be made to the food pantry, and monetary gifts are also accepted. The Chautauqua County Rural Ministry is located at 319 Washington Ave., Dunkirk. Call (716) 366-1787 or visit theccrm.org for more information.