Island Free Press ...Local News

On the surface, Hatteras Island looks like a place barely touched by economic woes.

Kiteboarders zip over the Pamlico Sound, Cape Hatteras Anglers Club fishing tournament competitors congregate on the beach, and cars of snowbirds headed south line up at the ferry docks in Hatteras village.

But beneath the carefree ambiance, hard numbers point to an economy in trouble and hard times for many island families.

The number of families helped by the Hatteras Island Food Pantry this September was three times higher than the number helped last September.

Faced with unemployment long before the quiet of winter sets in, some of those families packed up their belongings and moved off the island.

So, the number of families helped in October fell a little, but still outpaced last October by more than double, according to Walton Fulcher, food pantry coordinator.

“A healthy tourism economy helped buffer us from the full impact of the downward trend in the national economy for a while, but this year we haven’t been immune to national trends,” explained Linda Browning, who organizes the fall food drive that stocks the pantry for winter.

Unemployment is rising. The September unemployment rate in Dare County this year was 4.2 percent, compared to 2.9 percent last year.

“We’re seeing widespread unemployment in every part of the private sector,” said Browning.

A stagnant real estate market has hammered down the demand for workers in construction and associated trades to a pittance of what it was just a few years ago.

Browning said the closure of popular fishing areas on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore has also had an effect on jobs in the service sector.

Some beach cottages and motel rooms sat vacant even during the high season for tourism. Vacation lodging in August was down more than 12 percent in Buxton.

And, given the curtain of financial instability hanging over the world, many tourists have been less inclined to spend money at gift shops or restaurants. The amount of money spent on meals in Hatteras Island restaurants fell 3.46 percent, even before the current financial crisis began to dominate daily news stories.

The Hatteras Island Food Pantry, located at the Untied Methodist Church in Buxton, serves all of the villages on the island. Clients are referred to the pantry by the county Department of Social Services.

The pantry is conducting its annual food-drive from now through December.

Donations of food, personal care products, and cleaning supplies can be dropped off at Hatteras Realty offices in Avon, Waves, and Hatteras, Our Lady of the Seas parish hall in Buxton, Frisco Shopping Center in Frisco, Rodanthe Post Office, Outer Beaches Realty offices in Avon, Hatteras, and Waves, The Blue Whale in Salvo, and Surf or Sound Realty offices in Avon and Salvo.

Food items in high demand include cooking oil, peanut butter, jelly, spaghetti, spaghetti sauces, grated cheese, pancake mix, pancake syrup, cereal, non-fat dry milk, sugar, flour, biscuit mix, shortening, salt and pepper, canned meats, and canned tuna.

Personal care and cleaning products, such as shampoo, shaving cream, bath soap, deodorant, toothpaste, dish detergent, and laundry detergent, are also needed.

The pantry also needs monetary donations. Checks should be made out to the United Methodist Men and mailed to Hatteras Island Food Pantry, P.O. Box 1591, Buxton, NC 27920.

Browning worries that the food drive underway now could fall short of meeting the needs of families on the island this winter.

“The response to our current food drive hasn’t been as high as in past years. Some of the people who have been strong supporters of the drive are personally experiencing difficult financial situations,” she said.

In the fiscal year ending in July, the Hatteras Island Food Pantry supplied 700 people with food for 29,000 meals, and distributed $55,000 in emergency assistance to 111 families for help with medical, housing, and utilities expenses.