Food donation drives have started in Brandon after photos circulated on social media this week, showing empty pallets in the warehouse at the city's largest food bank.
Thea Dennis, executive director of Samaritan House Ministries, said staff have had to limit the amount of food put into hampers because donations to the food bank are down.
"We're looking for soups and cereals, beans and rice and pastas," said Dennis. "The things that you put in your pantry are exactly what we're needing in ours.
"We're still maintaining our hamper program but the number of items that we're able to put in decreases."
Samaritan House gave out more than 20,000 food hampers in 2017, Dennis said. About 120 people visit the organization daily; they're allowed one hamper every two weeks.
The slowdown being experienced right now is typical as the organization heads into the summer months, Dennis said.
Samaritan House officials say they need soups, cereals, beans and a number of other items to fill the shelves. (Shannon Mannall/Facebook)
"The need for that food has definitely increased over the years," she said. "This is our highest that we've ever seen that need in our organization and in that the community has always been so helpful in maintaining our food security for the food bank.
"It's a real bit of stress on families on the community and when the donations go low, so what we put into those hampers diminish as well."
Some produce has arrived and the food bank has about three weeks of food left, Dennis said.
She's confident the community will step up and help replenish the food bank. This week, a number of businesses and organizations started food drives to try to help out.
"We're just really grateful for Brandon and Westman and area for always looking after us," said Dennis.
Anyone who has food or other items to donate can drop them off at Samaritan House at 820 Pacific Ave. in Brandon between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
