CUPBOARD BARE; FISH PLANS FALL DRIVE

The annual fall food drive couldn't come at a better time, say leaders of FISH, Cape Girardeau's Christian emergency relief organization.

This year's food drive is scheduled for Oct. 4.

The shelves of the FISH food pantry at Maple Avenue United Methodist Church, 624 S. Ellis, are nearly bare.

"We have been low since May," said June Ebers, who directs the food pantry operation.

She said the pantry's short supply of food has forced the organization to buy food to meet the needs. "I came in today to see what I would have to buy," Ebers said Wednesday.

Ebers said the pantry is out of almost everything, including such staples as corn, green beans, and pork and beans.

"This is the first year that I can remember being out of corn, green beans and pork and beans," said Ebers, who has been involved with FISH for five years.

"Luckily, a lot of people give cash donations," she said. The money is used to provide food and other assistance to needy persons in the Cape Girardeau area.

The fall food drive is one of two major food drives that benefit FISH. In addition to the organization's own drive, the Boy Scouts also hold a food drive in the fall.

The Rev. Craig Nessan of St. Mark Lutheran Church, who serves as president of FISH, said the organization provides emergency assistance in terms of food, transportation, medicine and utilities.

"It's an ongoing need. There has been no let up," he said.

Ebers said, "Times are hard for lots of people."

Nessan said it appears there is an increasing need for food and other assistance. "We see it especially in the food requests, but also requests for utility assistance.

"We have been very grateful to Union Electric for utility assistance," he said.

Nessan said UE, through its Dollar More program, has contributed thousands of dollars to FISH. The money is doled out in $75 increments to help pay utility bills for those in need. UE recently donated $5,000 to the program.

Nessan said FISH aids a wide variety of individuals and families. "There is no one single profile. There are elderly people; there are single mothers raising families; there are people who just have problems and they can't work; there are people who are working and don't make a sufficient salary to take care of all their needs."

Even persons on welfare are often in need of additional assistance, he said.

In the past three months FISH has provided food to nearly 800 people.

Last fiscal year FISH provided over 3,000 bags of food to more than 1,000 families.

Nessan said FISH used to provide a five-day supply of food to a household. Now, those in need receive a seven-day supply.

The new policy was instituted about a year ago. "The needs of people were great and we had enough food at the time," he said of the decision.

Nessan said the food pantry is in need of a variety of food items, including cereals, canned meats, pasta, soups, peanut butter, canned fruit, juices, dried beans, macaroni and cheese, dried milk, cake mixes, pork and beans, crackers, canned chili and Jello.

Last year's food drive netted about 400 to 500 bags of food.

Audrey Daniel, a longtime member of FISH, said area residents have been generous in their support of the organization.

"In these times when families are going through a lot of financial stress, it is still amazing how much support we have gotten from people in this community," she said.

"We are appreciative of that and understand that even with their own needs they still are willing to share," said Daniel.

Cape Girardeau's churches have supported FISH for more than a decade. Some of the churches now contribute to the food pantry year-round, although the big push occurs during the annual food drive.

"It's been probably the best ecumenical cooperation of anything I know of in this community," said Nessan. "This is something that one church just can't do by itself, but when we work together we can really make a good program out of it," he said.

Nessan said a lot of public attention has been focused on the emergency needs of people in hurricane-ravaged parts of Florida and Louisiana.

He said he hopes citizens here will remember there are needs locally for emergency assistance and will participate in the food drive.

Nessan said FISH is also in need of telephone volunteers to handle requests for assistance. "Right now we have about 32 volunteers and that is not a very long list."

Volunteers answer FISH telephone calls from their homes through a call-forwarding service. "We are on the phone lines Monday through Friday," he said. The telephone number for FISH is 334-0207.