QUINCY, ILL. -- In these times of economic uncertainty, more people are turning to food pantries for the first time. And many of the new faces turn into familiar ones as the months go on.
For that reason, food pantries across the country are seeing bare shelves.
KHQA checked in with some local food pantries to see how they are faring and how you can help.
"The thing with food is, once you give it away, you automatically need more," Kaleigh Friend said.
And that's the case all across the country. In Central Illinois, things are holding steady, but there are some exceptions.
"In Adams County, we've specifically been watching the community because the need has risen a little bit and not stayed constant," Friend said.
It's not the same all over the area. This is the food pantry at Quanada. The shelves look full ... for now.
"In about two weeks, all of this will be gone," Susan Fifer with Quanada said.
That's why donations are important all year long.
"We serve 300 households or about a thousand individuals a month," Fifer said.
Donations don't have to be food. You can donate money or even your time to any of the several food pantries in the Tri-States.
"If you have a garden you're planting this spring, and you have some extra, maybe think of them and give them that excess," Friend explained.
Or you can pick up a couple of extra items at the grocery store or if you don't go out to eat once during the week, donate that money to a food shelter. To find a food shelter near you, check out www.centralILfoodbank.org.
The Quincy Salvation Army is also low on food because pantry is getting ready to move to the new Shelter and Family Services building.
A reminder that the Quincy Salvation Army is in line to get some grant money from a foundation in Rhode Island.
The money comes based on how many donations the Salvation Army gets.
Find more on that story here.
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