EDITORIAL: Help stock the shelves of our food banks

   The holiday season is a time of giving — which is why charities like the shelves at local food banks and food pantries tend to fill up around the holidays.
   This year, however, those shelves are not as stocked.
   And things only promise to get worse as we move into the new year.
   Local pantries — and soup kitchens like the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen and Elijah’s Promise Soup Kitchen in New Brunswick — are reporting both an increase in the number of people seeking help and a drop-off in donations when compared to previous years.
   It is part of a state and national trend that has led to some emergency food centers being forced to turn away those in need. Pantries served by the Community FoodBank of NJ, a clearing house for the larger pantries in the northern half of the state, are reporting a 20 percent increase in the number of people seeking help — with agencies in especially hard-hit areas, like New Brunswick and Trenton, reporting a 30 percent spike. And that was in September, before the bulk of layoffs and foreclosures hit the nation.
   Feeding America — formerly America’s Second Harvest — reported earlier this month that there has been a 30 percent increase in emergency requests from food banks around the country, with nearly three-quarters saying they may have to reduce the amount of food given to each client to ensure distribution to everyone in need.
   That’s what almost happened in November at Elijah’s Promise. The soup kitchen had announced that it planned to eliminate its Tuesday lunch program, but was saved by an influx of donations. The soup kitchen’s plight remains precarious — as is the case with nearly every soup kitchen and food pantry in Central Jersey.
   And this is with the holiday influx of food and monetary donations.
   We want to remind everyone that need is not something tied to the calendar. People are just as hungry and in need of help in January and February as in November and December.
   Please pitch in with a donation to or volunteering with one of the following:
   The Community FoodBank of New Jersey, 31 Evans Terminal Road, Hillside, NJ 07205; 908-355-3663; www.njfoodbank.orgwww.mercerstreetfriends.orgwww.trentonsoupkitchen.orgwww.elijahspromise.org