EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) -
Thousands of people rely on the food pantry at the Evansville Christian Life Center, but donations are down. It's a cause for concern for organizers and the needy families they serve.
"This year just seems a little bit heavier. The traffic coming through is heaver. We have families that have never had to use our services before are coming in, so that is part of the problem," said Gina Gibson with the Evansville Christian Life Center.
That's one reason why the shelves are practically empty inside the food pantry at the Life Center. The season is also a reason why the shelves are bare.
"School's closed. Children are home and they're hungry. Families are coming in to get more food and more people are still looking for jobs and haven't been able to find them. They've spent through all of their spare resources so we're seeing more and more middle class families come through," Gibson said.
Gibson says it's worrisome because they don't have any upcoming food drives. She says the food that's being taken off the shelves isn't being replaced.
"There are certain times of year that churches and organizations will come in and do food drive. That's typically not in the summer, so we're just asking churches and organizations if they'll just come along side us and partner with us," Gibson said.
Gibson says it's the more expensive items they're quickly running out of like canned meat and produce. She says they're also in need of kid-friendly food items.
"Kids are at home in the summer so easy to eat foods. Kids aren't going to open a can of peas or corn and eat that for lunch, but they would canned meat or peanut butter. Those types of things. Easy to fix meals," Gibson said.
You may drop off donations at the Evansville Christian Life Center. It's located at 509 South Kentucky Avenue in Evansville.
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