The Community Food Bank served 40,000 meal boxes last holiday season to families in need. This year, because of a tough economy, they only have a fourth of those meals ready to go.
"Throughout the community, the resources have significantly dropped off and so this year we are able to donate 10,000 with our own resources," said Andy Souza with the Community Food Bank.
Staff say former donors took a hit in the economic downturn. "What we've seen is a lot of folks who are donors from us in the last couple of years are on the receiving side of what we do."
The Food Bank cooks up meal boxes for more than 90,000 thousand people every week. The non-profit serves more than 150 different agencies in Fresno, Madera and King Counties. If shelves aren't stacked, other agencies who rely on the Food Bank's donations will suffer.
"Thanksgiving and Christmas are always our challenging times of year because so many people come to us for assistance with the job market and everything else going on, this year we expect even more people to come," said Paula Scribner with the Salvation Army.
A warm meal for those in need goes a long way during the holidays. Staff members are asking people to step up and boost their supplies. They're hoping, no one goes hungry for the holidays.
If you would like to help out you can donate cash or send a check. You can also donate some of your holiday favorites like cranberry sauce, mac and cheese, and turkey.
