Salvation Army food bank faces shortage ahead of holidays in Spokane

Ahead of the holidays, Salvation Army’s food bank is running dangerously low.

The amount of canned food coming into the Spokane food bank has gone down in recent months, while the number of families requesting help has increased. The Salvation Army received 40,000 fewer pounds of food in November than it did in September. During the same period, the organization is providing food to 1,500 more families, according to Spokane County coordinator David Cain.

“It has been a steady decline over the past six months,” he said. “These are record numbers since the pandemic going wrong in both directions. We are getting more and more families using social services for the first time, and I’m scared we may not be able to give them something.”

The “severe” shortage is not because of fewer donations. Much of the Salvation Army’s food comes from government programs. That has ticked down in recent months, Cain said. The food bank has started giving out smaller food boxes, which may get smaller closer to Christmas.

“I have never seen the warehouse as empty as it is right now. We’ve been notified by partners due to the increase in food costs, they simply will not be able to provide the stock of shelf stable food all the food banks are accustomed to,” Salvation Army social services director Elaine Mansoor said in a statement. “The basics that help families get by simply are not on the shelf right now. The weather is cold, and food prices are high. The Salvation Army’s food bank is very busy, but the food supply is extremely limited.”

Items needed include new and unopened shelf-stable food like peanut butter, jelly, canned tuna, canned chicken, canned meals, canned vegetables, canned fruit, nonperishable pasteurized milk, cereal, oatmeal, spaghetti, pasta sauce and snacks.

Donations can be delivered to the Salvation Army between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays at 204 E. Indiana Avenue in Spokane.