Erika Vasquez dragged a Radio Flyer toy wagon through the parking lot outside Cornwells United Methodist Church in Bensalem.
Twice a week, she brings the red wagon to a church-sponsored food pantry. She fills the wagon with fruits, vegetables, bread and juice boxes.
She then takes it home, unloads the groceries, and returns the toy wagon to her two young boys.
Hunger in Bucks County is not new. For nearly a decade, the United Way of Bucks County has organized annual campaigns to raise money for local food assistance.
Yet hunger here and elsewhere has grown a pace as the pandemic impacts not only local jobs but also global food distribution and rising food prices.
Bucks Co. COVID Cases Fall To Lowest Levels Since August - Newtown, PA - New COVID-19 infections are at their lowest level since last summer in Bucks County.
UpdatedTue, May 25, 2021 at 1:08 pm ET
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According to the county, almost 531,000 doses of vaccine have been administered by providers throughout Bucks County, about 140,000 of them at county-run sites. (Shutterstock)
BRISTOL, PA Bucks County officials announced Tuesday that the mass vaccination clinic at Bucks County Community College in Bristol will officially close Saturday, May 29. It has been in operation since February.
The move comes as more adults are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Pennsylvania and new cases numbers are plummeting statewide, county officials said in a news release. Bucks County will now focus new attention on community outreach.
The other four county-run locations – the Perkasie and Newtown community college campuses, Neshaminy Mall and the Warwick Square shopping center – will continue, according to the county.
She waited two hours for fresh produce, leaning on a walker and flanked by empty bags.
“It’s emotional the first time you get in this line,” said Dorothy Barker, 71, of Morrisville. “You don’t want to be here. But what can you do?”
Barker had company outside the Cornwells United Methodist Church in Bensalem, where volunteers organize twice weekly produce and pantry events. More than 100 people waited for food on a recent Friday. Nearly all were women. Some had children in tow.
The United Way of Bucks County estimates that as many as 30,000 additional county residents became food insecure during the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s Bucks Knocks Out Hunger campaign aims to raise $100,000 for food assistance and to collect 30,000 pounds of food for those who need help.