COLUMBIA BASIN — With the year winding down and the holidays looming, more and more people are counting on local food banks to make ends meet, especially in a struggling economy.

“We had a 19% increase from Thanksgiving week last year,” said Peny Archer, executive director of Community Services of Moses Lake, which operates the Moses Lake Food Bank. “Our numbers are definitely climbing. It’s pretty drastic. I mean, any for-profit (organization) that had that 19% increase would be really excited.”

Unfortunately, that kind of growth isn’t a good thing when you’re helping the needy. In the United States, more than 10% of households are food-insecure, according to a USDA study completed last year. The numbers are higher in rural areas: 11% of households have low or no food security, and 87% of the counties with the highest food insecurity rates are rural – in places like Grant and Adams counties.

Food banks aren’t just for the down-and-out, either.

“We're seeing more and more seniors,” Archer said. “We're seeing more and more working poor people. Basically, Mom and Dad are both working minimum wage jobs and they have three kids, or even two. By the time you pay rent, there's not a lot left for heating, food, et cetera.”

“The orchard work is done except for pruning, so there’s a lot more people in need of help than there were,” said Royal City Food Bank Director Mary McKinney.

Like most organizations that help people in need, food banks rely on help from the public. As food bank use rises, the need for donations does too. Just about anything is helpful, although canned or otherwise preserved foods are the most versatile.

“Any kind of food product is wonderful,” said Mike Donovan, a volunteer and former director with the Ephrata Food Bank. “And especially, it's always a valuable asset to have canned goods in your pantry.”

“I try not to turn anything down,” McKinney told the Herald last summer. “I like the odd stuff because you want different stuff in your food. Have you ever heard of black-eyed peas with snaps? Some people buy them. Peas and collard greens and Mexican tomato sauce, which is wonderful. If I can get that stuff I’ll take it.”

It’s best to check first, but for many food banks, no donation is too large. The Royal City Food Bank has refrigerator and freezer trailers for perishables. Moses Lake Food Bank is also well set up for storage space.

“We can handle bulk products,” Archer said. “We're very well prepared for that. So for example, if they want to donate 10 tons of potatoes or onions or carrots, we can easily work with that.”

Any canned stuff,” McKinney said. “We still are getting a fair amount of rice and noodles, that type of thing. But (we need) canned goods, soups, the stuff that we can keep for a while if we need to.”

“Bring the food in the back door,” Donovan said, quoting the Ephrata Food Bank’s mission statement, “and hand it out the front door.”

The need isn’t just limited to food.

“Donations of cleaning supplies are always good,” McKinney said. “People like household disinfectants, laundry soap, whatever.”

Even better than food is cold hard cash. Money lets food banks acquire things that folks might not think to donate. And food banks can get deals that private shoppers often can’t.

“We can buy more with your dollar than you can buy with it,” said Donovan, “through different agencies. So money is always important.”

Christmas is an especially hard time for people whose incomes are stretched to the limit.

“People want to have nice things for their kids,” Archer said. “They want to have presents under the tree, they want to have a really good meal with the family, and the price of food and everything else is pretty well pricing them out. So we do a toy drive for Moses Lake children.”

All toys stay in the local area, Archer added.

The Ephrata Food Bank is also doing Christmas baskets, Donovan said. Anybody who would like to nominate a family to receive a gift basket can do so at the food bank, he said, and those baskets will be distributed on Dec. 17. Age appropriate gifts for children whose families didn’t receive a basket will be given away as well.

“We just want people to have a joyous season and a happy holiday, make people feel a little bit warmer with their lives,” he added.

“We are very blessed to live in the community that we live in,” Archer said. “They're very supportive.”

Where to find it

Community Services of Moses Lake

1075 W Marina Drive

Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-2:45 p.m.

509-765-8101

Ephrata Food Bank

1010 A St. SE

Monday and Thursday 2-4 p.m.

509-754-5772

Soap Lake Food Bank

325 Main Ave. E

Tuesdays 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

509-246-0164

Royal City Food Bank

229 Balsam St. NW

Tuesdays 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

509-346-2679

Quincy Community Food Bank

210 First St. SE

Tuesdays 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m. and 4:30-6 p.m., Fridays 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

www.facebook.com/quincycommunityfoodbank

Warden Food Pantry

301 E Fifth St.

Thursdays 3:30-4:30 p.m.

509-349-2509

www.facebook.com/wardenfoodpantry

Othello Food Bank

949 E. Main St.

Monday-Wednesday 12-3 p.m.

509-488-6044

Mattawa Area Food Bank

23898 Road T.2

Second and fourth Saturdays 1-4 p.m. (schedule subject to change in November and December)

509-832-2331 English, 509-770-4557 Spanish

mattawaareafoodbank.org

Care & Share Food Bank of Grand Coulee

Grand Coulee Church of the Nazarene

45925 SR 174 N.

Fridays 1-3 p.m.

509-846-3031