There are at least 17 food banks throughout Whatcom County, including the Foothills Food Bank which supports families in Kendall, Maple Falls, Glacier, Deming and Acme.
Director of the Foothills Food Bank Becky Zender says when she started volunteering four years ago they were feeding 80 to 85 families per week.
Now they are averaging up to 175.
But as the weather turns colder she expects that number to go up.
They are already seeing new faces every week.
She says the reasons are due to social security not lasting as long, lost jobs and the money just isn’t lasting as long as it used to.
Becky says donations are down and that make’s it hard to keep up with the increased need.
Sometimes to keep food on the shelves, people are getting a little less in their bags.
Becky’s fear is that someday they’ll only be able to open once a month, instead of once a week.
