DAYTON — Demand for emergency food relief in the Miami Valley has increased 20 percent in recent months.

That number is likely to climb higher with the influx of more than 3,300 local workers laid off because of the Detroit-based American Axle & Manufacturing work stoppage.

"They just have gotten really bombarded in the last few weeks," said Foodbank chief Burma Rai regarding the AFL-CIO Labor Food Pantry. The Labor Food Pantry has seen record demand for food relief.

The Foodbank distributes $3.1 million worth of food to more than 90 food pantries, community kitchens and shelters in the Miami Valley.

"We were serving about 48,000 people annually, and half of those are kids," Rai said. "I would expect that we're going to see those numbers jump dramatically by the end of our fiscal year, which is June 30."

Rai attributed the increased demand to the rising cost of food and fuel, coupled with the loss of jobs.

"Many of us are just a couple of paychecks away from needing to go to a food pantry," Rai said. Rai met Wednesday, April 2, with a group of local food pantry coordinators.

They said that many new and younger families are coming to them for emergency food relief.

"We're trying our best to keep up, but we can't endure this for any length of time," Rai said. "Because the food that we get in is moving out so quickly that we're really having to hustle. We hustle, but it's a constant now."

The Foodbank receives donated food from federal and state government programs, America's Second Harvest and canned food drives. It also purchases wholesale food with cash to make up the difference from those programs.

The Foodbank is looking at options to acquire more food and financial support to meet the rising demand.

Local retailers and community members who wish to make donations, organize a canned food drive or volunteer are encouraged to call the Foodbank at (937) 461-0265 or visit www.thefoodbank

dayton.org.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419

or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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