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BY PEGGY MISHOE

Strand Notebook, October 28, 2014

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

On Monday, 100 people in need went to the Churches Assisting People (CAP) offices in Conway for food. About midday Tuesday, Director Gail LaSalle said it appeared the number was going to be about the same for that day.

The economy may be better for some people, but for many others, it has not improved, she said.

CAP is struggling to keep enough food on the shelves to give to the hungry that come to them. “We desperately need food,” LaSalle said. “It comes in, and it goes right out.”

Who are the people going to CAP for help?

They are not people who go from charity to charity, trying to take advantage. Many charities, including CAP, use Charity Tracker on their computers, and they know if a person has been to another charity and what the person has gotten from another charity or from theirs.

LaSalle said they are people of all ages, including many seniors living on fixed incomes who are a little above the amount that would allow them to get food stamps or maybe have incomes low enough to get only about $15 worth. And the price of food is going up.

“That’s what’s happening. Food is expensive, especially meat,” LaSalle said.

Many seniors who worked most of their lives only get about $600 or $700 per month in Social Security to live on. “It’s a struggle,” LaSalle said.

CAP provides emergency food assistance of three meals per person, per day for three days. In October 2013, CAP provided food to 1,148 families. As of noon on Oct. 28, CAP already had assisted 1,000 households this month. That’s an estimated 2,800 people and about 24,000 to 25,000 meals.

This year, from January through August, a total of 7, 478 families received 165,645 meals.

CAP also helps in other ways, if possible, and in that same time period, it distributed $24,401 to 8,000 families to assist with electric bills, transportation, housing and other basic needs.

On Tuesday, LaSalle was trying to network to help a woman who has been given responsibility for three of someone else’s children and is having to rent beds for them because she can’t afford to buy beds.

“People need stuff, and it’s very hard,” LaSalle said. “She only gets $180 a month to feed all three of them. She can’t afford to go out and buy beds.”

In an effort to assist those in need more efficiently, CAP was started by the Conway Ministerial Association in late 1987 with seven participating churches and has grown to about 33 participating churches and organizations. It has a staff of three.

Without hard-working volunteers, it would be impossible to operate, LaSalle said.

In addition to the daily need of food and donations, CAP, a United Way agency, is working to provide Thanksgiving dinner to families in need.

CAP is at 206 Main St. in Conway. For more information about donating, hosting a food drive, volunteering or helping in other ways, call 488-2277 or visit www.capconway.org.

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