Shelves running low at Cooperative Christian Ministry food pantries

Nationally, food pantries are reporting that their shelves are being emptied faster than they can fill them. As rising food and gas prices and shrinking household budgets send more families to food pantries to make ends meet, food pantry shelves are running low.

Locally, Cooperative Christian Ministry is feeling the pinch. CCM reports an 11 percent increase in the number of households and individuals receiving food since last year, accompanied by a 37 percent decrease in the amount of food received at this time as compared to last year. This means less food to pass on to seniors who are balancing groceries and medication and to struggling families with children.

A 2007 U.S. Department of Agriculture report shows that 12.6 million American households were finding it difficult to provide enough food for their families.

As the country experiences the worst grocery inflation in nearly 20 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all food is forecast to increase 3.5 to 4.5 percent in 2008 with retailers continuing to pass on higher commodity and energy costs to consumers in the form of higher retail prices. 

With families forced into choosing between heating their homes, paying for medicines and feeding their families, it is not surprising that local schools have children who are coming to school hungry.

You can help feed the hungry by providing canned vegetables, canned fruits and pasta to your local food pantries. For more information, contact Cooperative Christian Ministry at 704-786-4709, ext. 16.

Hospice awards

• Kate Tice, certified nursing assistant at Hospice & Palliative Care of Cabarrus County’s Hospice House passed the Hospice and Palliative Nursing Assistant Examination. Her designation is now CHPNA.

Tice provided necessary documentation with more than 2,000 hours under the supervision of a registered nurse in the past two years and took an extensive written certification exam for Hospice and Palliative Nursing Assistants.

• Cathy Bruce, a registered nurse at Hospice House, passed the Generalist Hospice and Palliative Nurse Examination. She is now entitled to use the registered designation of RN-CHPN following her name.

Certification validates an individual nurse’s competence and knowledge in the specialized area of hospice and palliative care. This certification exam is accredited by the American Board of Nursing Specialists.