By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CHELSEA — The economic climate has already made things difficult for soup kitchens, but this winter's harsh weather has added another layer of complications for organizations that feed the homeless and hungry.
At Chelsea's Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, the largest provider of its kind in the tri-state area, blizzards like the one that blew into town early this week can wreak havoc on food delivery schedules and block needy patrons from being able to reach the building for meals.
On an average weekday, about 1,250 meals are dished out inside Holy Apostles' church hall at Ninth Avenue between 27th and 28th streets.
But the day after the Dec. 26 storm, just 800 people in need of a free meal were able to reach the church for their meal. The number dipped again on Wednesday, following the last snowstorm, down to 1,050 people who were able to reach the church for food, director of operations Michael Ottley said.
The drop in patrons coincided with a drop in food delivery to the church, after bread deliveries from City Harvest and another bakery didn't come on time.
When that happens, according to Ottley, the soup kitchen supplements its bread baskets with surplus items from older donations, such as Pop Tarts or cookies.
"Although it's not the same nutritional value as bread," Ottley said, "the guests understand."
Snowfall Wednesday also halted a delivery to nearby Saint Peter's Church at 346 W. 20th St., where a food pantry passes out two to three days worth of rations several times a week. Acting director Alice Blount-Fenney said she tries to prepare for disruptions by stocking food items a week in advance.
"A lot of things are beyond our control," Blount-Fenney said. "We try to keep the momentum going."
Both storms also made it harder to distribute the food, because fewer volunteers were able to commute to soup kitchens and pantries. Holy Apostles lost half its volunteers on the day after the Christmas blizzard, making for "a challenging day," Ottley said.
This year’s seasonal challenges are compounded by a difficult economic climate. Demand for food pantries has spiked during the recession, sending the total number of meals served at Holy Apostles rose to nearly 330,000 last year, when the pantry never served more than 300,000 meals a year before 2007.
Meanwhile, funding from traditional sources such as private foundations and government agencies has dipped, according to Holy Apostles Director of Development Neville Hughes, who said final number for 2010 are not yet available.
Last month, Saint Peter's had to cut its food delivery schedule from four to three days a week, though Blount-Fenney said this hasn't caused them to turn any clients away.
The people who depend on Holy Apostles and Saint Peter's for meals — the chronically homeless, but also those who the recession has left struggling to make ends meets — also experience a more bone-chilling wait outside in line during the winter than during the rest of the year.
