Rent Versus Food

September is usually a time when we embrace certain familiar patterns – the rhythm of buying back-to-school supplies and new clothes, the anticipation of autumn days, all things pumpkin and crisp air. As the season changes beach days and summer cook-outs are recalled with traces of wistfulness. This fall we live with unmistakable anxiety. Will jobs come back? Will Covid-19 once again wreak havoc in our communities? Will my family have a place to live? Will my kids have enough food?

Mathew Desmond eloquently encapsulated the issue in the title of a recent piece in the New York Times, “The Rent Eats First, Even During a Pandemic.” Prior to the pandemic, more than 800,000 people around the nation were threatened with eviction each month. According to the Aspen Institute, as of September between 19 million and 23 million people are at risk of eviction. Fortunately, the beginning of September brought a welcome reprieve to many renters impacted by Covid-19, through a sweeping eviction moratorium order issued by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and U.S. Department of Health. However, the underlying economic issues remain unaddressed. 

At CHHOP, we have seen a staggering increase in the number of people relying on Fred’s Pantry since the onset of the pandemic. We are grateful to our funders who enable Fred’s Pantry to provide healthy and nutritious food to so many people in need. In the past few months, we have witnessed an increase in family size as family members “double up” to retain housing. We understand that every dollar a family can save on groceries helps them maintain stable housing. Safe, stable, and decent housing is central to ensuring health and stability for individuals and families and the communities in which they live. Homelessness negatively impacts health, ability to maintain employment, schooling and well-being. While the moratorium on evictions for those who have been impacted by Covid-19 is a needed step to slow the transmission of the virus and keep people housed, it does not address how renters will pay rent accrued after the pandemic, nor the situation of a small landlord who needs to pay a mortgage.

At CHHOP, in addition to providing a safe respite at Jan Peek House for those who become homeless, we are dedicated to preventing homelessness through Fred’s Pantry and our permanent and rapid rehousing programs. While the nonprofit sector plays a critical role in keeping people fed and in their homes, our efforts are overshadowed by the approaching tsunami of homelessness. Robust and ongoing government action is desperately needed. Until that time, please, continue to support CHHOP with your financial contributions so we can carry on our work helping the most vulnerable in our community. You can also help by advocating for those facing food insecurity and homelessness by contacting your local, state, and federal elected representatives as though your life, or that of a loved one, depends upon it.

With Warmest Regards

Cynthia B. Knox, esq.

CHHOP, CEO