Good Samaritan shelves are stocked but cash box needs help

For once, the food pantry at Good Samaritan Association isn't in dire need -- but the coffers are.

"We've got plenty of food right now," said Musa Alexander, who has been helping out at the local charity for many years now. "But it's going very fast. We do have a lot of fresh vegetables -- the people here in Shelbyville are so generous. When they find out through your paper that we need stuff, they come with bags and baskets -- and checks in their hands."

Right now, she said, it's the checks they need more than food. Good Samaritan helps people with utility bills and rent. The organization can't pay much more than $40 to $100 in each case, but there are a lot of cases, and the numbers keep growing.

"I guess I wrote 16 checks just the other day," she said. With cold weather coming and the recent layoffs and plant closing, she estimate that number will rise -- as long as the money holds out.

"Cathy (Miller, director of Good Samaritan) still has some of the government money, but we can use anything we can get."

The currently full pantry is a relief for the organization, but Alexander said that can change quickly. After the fresh vegetables have been harvested for the year, those donations will all but disappear. Some of the items the pantry can always use are canned vegetables and meat, as well as peanut butter.

Food banks across the country are being stretched by a recession-fueled surge in first time users, according to a survey released on Monday.

Feeding America, a nonprofit organization aimed at fighting hunger, surveyed 176 food banks across the country. Of those, 99 percent reported a significant uptick in requests for food, and 98 percent pinned the increase on new visitors to food banks.

The survey dovetails with data from the Agriculture Department, which reported earlier this month that requests for food stamps had increased for the eighth month in a row in June and that a record number of people -- more than 35 million -- received aid.

Food bank administrators said they fear the increase will mean they won't be able to provide as much aid as they have in the past.

"It's a real worry," said Kitty Schaller, the executive director of MANNA FoodBank in Asheville, N.C. Schaller said high unemployment has fueled unprecedented demand for assistance at her food bank, which serves 16 mostly rural counties in western North Carolina.

"We have had good help, including from the federal government, but in some cases we are worried we can't do as much," Schaller said.

Joan Wadkins, a spokeswoman for Second Harvest Heartland, a food bank network based in Minneapolis, said her organization expanded its storage capacity over the summer and demand continues to increase.

"We are fortunate because donations have continued to be generous," Wadkins said. "But we have a lot of people who need help."

According to the survey, 92 percent of the food banks reported people seeking help had recently lost their jobs.

"What we're seeing is a significant increase in the need for donations, because these organizations are under stress," said Maura Daly, a spokeswoman for Feeding America. "And that, primarily, is being driven by first-time users."

DREMC's Project HELP program will help defray the cost of energy for elderly and handicapped members. Check at the DREMC office for details to participate in this voluntary program by contributing $1 or more per month to your electric bill payment.

--The Associated Press contributed to this report.