ST. CLOUD -- The need for food continues to grow, local food shelves are preparing for what's still to come.

Families continue to struggle financially during this time of mass unemployment, and organizations like Catholic Charities Emergency Services Food Shelf is looked upon even more.

Sue Hanks is the Program Manager at Emergency Services. She says the number of households they've served has doubled in recent weeks, and she knows it will only grow.

We typically serve 2,000-2,500 households each month. We typically distribute an average of 180,000 pounds of food each month. When I think of doubling or tripling those numbers, that's staggering to me.

Hanks says food shelves across the country are seeing their inventory declining as programs they rely on, such as Food Rescue, have been limited.

Things like our Food Rescue program, those donations are down 40-50% across the United States, which make sense as our grocery stores don't have the excess food to donate because their shelves are empty.

She says in St. Cloud they've been able to keep up with the recent spike in demand thanks to record breaking donations form their Pack the Porches food drive last month.

Hanks says while they are able to keep up with demand now, they continue to accept non-perishable food items and cash donations to help make sure their shelves are stocked.

You can drop off food donations during limited hours through a drop‐off model on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm at the loading area of 157 Roosevelt Rd, St. Cloud, Door D.

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