By George Shaw
Governor Roy Cooper announced on Tuesday afternoon that North Carolina would move to Phase 2.5 of the reopening plan. Key indicators for COVID-19 have generally remained stable or decreased. Phase 2.5 will remain in effect through October 2, 2020. The Wake Forest Gazette will provide an update on September 30 or earlier.
This means that outdoor playgrounds can open and indoor ones can reopen at diminished capacity. Museums, aquariums, gyms, bowling alleys and skating rinks can also operate at 30% of capacity. Masks will be required in public for anyone age 5 or older vs. 11 and older under the prior guidelines. The maximum for mass gatherings will increase from 10 to 25 people for indoor events and from 25 to 50 for outdoor ones.
Update on COVID-19 data for our area
The number of cases for North Carolina rose 11,568 (7% increase) and the number of deaths 169 (7% growth) during the last week. North Carolina ranks 24th among the 50 states in terms of cases per million population as well as 31st for deaths. It also ranks 25th in terms of the number of tests. Wake County had an additional 1146 cases (8%) but only 6 deaths (3%) since August 26.
Although the trends for North Carolina are generally positive, the levels of all four metrics tracked to guide the schedule for reopening remain elevated. Moving to Phase 3 will require significant reductions in the number of tests, cases and hospitalizations as well as in the rate of positive tests.
There were 735 cases in Zip Code 27587 by August 26 and 809 as of today, an increase of 10%. Meanwhile, the number of deaths in our zip increased by one, from 29 to 30. No new cases were reported today.
Zip Code 27571 (Rolesville) increased from 57 to 65 cases during the last week (14% growth). Zip 27596 (Youngsville) rose from 170 to 194 cases (14% growth).
Unemployment and Stimulus Payments
The unemployment rate for Wake County has not yet been updated for the July 2020 figures. However, the rate for North Carolina increased from 7.5% in June to 8.5% in July. The June rate for Wake County was 7.2% in June and is forecast to be 8% or higher for July. This is based on the relatively slow growth of the number of non-farm employees reported for our area in July. The overall increase in unemployment for the state is largely caused by an increasing number of residents rejoining the workforce, not by layoffs.
North Carolina’s plan for continuation of the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program was approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on August 21. The prior amount of $600 per week was reduced to $300 and are subject to continued availability of federal funds. Candidates for the program are eligible if their weekly unemployment benefit amount was at least $100.
Impacts on Food Security in Our Area
Economic Impacts
The rise in unemployment and the reduction in LWA payments to those with incomes near poverty levels is likely to increase demand at area pantries in feeding programs. However, the supply of fresh produce is expanding for our distribution programs. Significant shortfalls remain for many area pantries in terms of shelf stable foods and other products
Pantry Supply and Demand
The pantries in our area continue to operate at about 20% under pre-COVID capacity. It is unclear if the move to Phase 2.5 will enable these two pantries to resume full operations in the near future. Demand at area pantries peaked in mid-spring and had been declining through July. It resumed growth in August with the suspension of the Lost Wages program as well as slowing in our area of the economic recovery. Up to 20% of the clients at our pantries in recent months are new and many are coming from outside of the Wake Forest area.
Updates on Major Food Supply Programs
Last week’s issue of the Wake Forest Gazette reported that six area programs were among the 23 awardees of grants by Wake County to sustain programs to feed needy school age children. An additional six of the awards went to programs that support our area. These grants will provide funding through December 31, 2020.
The Northern Region Food Security Team (NRFST) received a grant to fund two trailers for storage of produce and shelf-stable food boxes for distribution through the local network of pantries and food distribution programs. These trailers are planned to be placed in the old Suntrust parking lot in downtown Wake Forest. Individual organizations will be able to order these boxes based on their requirements and pick them up from the trailers to quickly distribute them to neighborhoods with significant food insecurity. In addition to fresh produce and shelf-stable foods, these programs will help address the gaps in supply of meat, eggs and dairy products. It is likely to take several weeks for this program to become operational.
In addition, Raleigh Dream Center provided 100,000 meals across Wake Forest, Rolesville and Youngsville from March through August. Their grant will enable them to continue their program to half a dozen area sites as well as 20+ sites in other parts of the county. Three area pantries and two community gardens plan to use their grants to build infrastructure to help those in need. This includes increased refrigeration capacity as well as funds to purchase additional food for the pantries.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of area pantries are signing up to receive product boxes from a different grant program. This initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is working through food distributors such as The Produce Box, Ward’s and Ford’s.
The Society of St. Andrew has sponsored both major events as well as their traditional gleaning. Three of the six planned watermelon distributions have occurred, including 40,000 pounds distributed in the parking lot at St. Catherine’s on August 28. About 1200 pounds of corn were harvested near Louisburg and then delivered to six area pantries earlier this week.
How Can You Help?
Donate to area pantries and feeding programs. The number one requirement is cash so that pantries and feeding programs can fill in gaps in their supply of food. The key gaps include:
o Pasta and pasta sauce
o Boxed cereal
o Rice
o Canned fruit and vegetables
o Flour and sugar
o Hygiene products
Organize or participate in food drives.
Volunteer at a pantry or with food distribution events.
