Little to ho-ho-ho about

Food pantries this year look a lot like Mother Hubbard's cupboard.

Although donations of food and money are up, they haven't increased as much as need, according to Second Harvest, the umbrella group for the nation's loosely connected chain of food pantries.

Communications Manager Susan Hofer told United Press International Thursday, donations of food have hit 1.8 billion pounds, up 4 percent from last year and monetary donations are up 22 percent to $20 million.

"Donations of food are nowhere near meeting demand," Hofer said. "When talking to our affiliates, estimates of need are up 5 to 10 percent in some communities to upwards of 35 to 40 percent in other communities."

The U.S. Conference of Mayors Wednesday released a report indicating demand for food aid nationally is up 19 percent, with many working families among the needy.

Hunger affects some 33 million Americans, 13 million of them children.

Some 50,000 agencies receive food from Second Harvest's regional distribution centers -- at least one agency in every county in the United States and Puerto Rico. In 2001, Second Harvest provided food for an estimated 23.3 million people.

The greatest demand this year, Hofer said, currently is coming from rural and suburban communities, especially communities where middle managers and white-collar workers have been hardest hit by recent layoffs.

Lt. Col. Tom Jones at the Salvation Army's national headquarters in Arlington, Va., said collections appear to be up in a few communities but are down in most an average of 5 percent to 10 percent, with some areas reporting drops in collections of as much as 20 percent.

"More and more people are coming to us for help than we've ever seen before," Jones said, blaming the situation mostly on the economic downturn.

The Salvation Army helped 6 million people during Christmas 2001, and throughout the year the total was 38 million, up 1 million from 2000. This year, Jones said, the numbers are expected to be even higher.

The North Texas Food Bank in Dallas reports distributions of food to 370 charities have increased 15 percent in the past year, but donations to the distribution center are up only 3 percent.

"The only way we are meeting the demand right now is because we have quite a bit of USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) commodities but we can't always count on that," spokeswoman Colleen Hager said. "Right now we are fine because we have the USDA commodities but this is not good on a long-term basis."

The 370 agencies tell the food bank they have seen a 37 percent increase over the past year in the number of people coming to their food pantries, she said, and many of them are new faces.

"The folks that are coming in for food and other kinds of social services are in many cases the people that donated last year," Hager said.

Many of those seeking food or aid from charities are newly unemployed and they tell social workers in the Dallas area that they used to donate in better times, she said.

In the relatively affluent Libertyville, Ill., area northwest of Chicago, 85 families have been adopted by church groups, synagogues, schools and corporations.

In Santa Fe, N.M., the Salvation Army is running short because the local food bank where it buys 75 percent of its offerings has seen donations drop to just 5,500 pounds of food this season, compared with 13,000 pounds at this time last year.

The number of hungry in Denver is believed up as much as 300 percent with Catholic Charities reporting 500 families seeking help each month, up from 300 families last year.

"Our food pantry in Brighton has seen a 75 percent increase," Mary Ann Valeska, supervisor of emergency services for Catholic Charities told the Rocky Mountain News.

"This is a new group. People who've never had to go to a place like this and ask for help. They're embarrassed to have come in and ask."

The Food Bank of the Rockies reported its shelves bare.

"People are swamping us," acting Chief Executive Officer Barbara Arko said.

The Salvation Army in Salt Lake City found itself turning away hungry families this week because it had run out of food for the second time this year. Similar shortages were reported in September and October. Officials said requests for food aid are up 28 percent.

In Stevens Point, Wis., the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store reports a 32 percent increase in the number of people requesting help.

In Indianapolis, the Salvation Army said it's far from meeting its goal of raising $2 million for its Tree of Lights campaign. On Monday, donations stood at just $881,000. Red kettle donations also are off while requests for assistance have nearly doubled.

"We're about 40 percent of where we were last year at this time," Linda Tegarden, manager of the Salvation Army store in Frankfort, Ind., told the Frankfort Times. "A lot of people have been laid off. A lot of people are hurting."

"A donor who always sent a $5,000 check every Christmas sent a check for $200 and an apology," Maj. Mark Turner, told the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel.

Even the Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign is hurting.

"It won't be enough. It's never enough," Marine 1st Sgt. Christopher Borghese told the Indianapolis Star.

"Times are tough," Ray Kish, who leads Marine Corps League Detachment 756 in Port Charles, Fla., told the Port Charles Sun-Herald. "We just don't have the money to get everything we were asked for."