In the past year, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank distributed 9.5 million pounds of food, an increase of more than one million pounds from the 8.3 million collected two years ago. According to Chief Executive Officer Andrew Schiff, however, that might not be enough this time around.

“It looks like we have to somehow exceed that again. As quickly as the food is coming in, it’s going out,” he said. “What we’ve seen since the beginning of 2009, is that as the lines at unemployment have grown, so have the lines at food pantries.”

This week marks the beginning of the food bank’s Holiday Meal Drive, an annual push for collections during a particularly important time of year.

Meals for Thanksgiving have already been distributed, including 1,000 turkeys courtesy of Stop & Shop. Moving forward in the drive, the goal is collect 250,000 pounds of food by the end of December.

Need increases during the winter months, and many of the more than 300 member agencies organize individual programs geared toward the holidays.

Jeanne Gattegno, director to Westbay Community Action has sees a growing need.

“We’re working very hard to keep a supply of food coming in. We are giving it out faster than it’s coming in,” she said.

Gattegno said a lot of Westbay’s food distributed through the Westbay Marketplace is donated through community drives as well as purchased from the food bank. Because of the increased demand, she said Westbay has hired a new staff member to strictly handle food stamp applications. Many of those applying are people who have received emergency food supplies.

As has been the practice for years, Westbay plays an integral role in the Neighbors Helping Neighbors program that provides food and food certificates to needy people during the holiday season.

“We collect names of people so it’s all coordinated, so that no one is getting more than one (certificate or food basket),” she said.

Patti St.Amant, the city’s director of family support services, said about 640 people have applied for assistance through Neighbors Helping Neighbors, an increase of 40 from last year. She said people have generously donated to the program although the amount donated is down. So far donations total $3,500.

“It’s been difficult this year. There’s a lot of families out of work and we don’t know when they’re going to go back to work,” she said. Pizza King that assisted the drive by donating a couple of pizzas especially touched St.Amant.

Schiff fears there could be a shortfall if the need continues to rise without a surge in donations.

“It is very, very encouraging to see the response from the community but I am a worrier. I’m very nervous about when are things going to turn around?” he asked. “The worst thing in the world would be to have to turn them away.”

At a monthly agency advisory committee meeting, that possibility was discussed, however. Schiff says if worse comes to worst, medium and smaller sized agencies would see cutbacks in food assistance before broader reaching organizations.

“That would be a burden I would hate to place on the agencies,” he added.

Still, community groups across the state are being stretched thin. In October of 2008, SNAP, Rhode Island’s food stamp program, was serving 90,444 Rhode Islanders. Last month, that number had swollen to 122,836.

“The food pantries and soup kitchens and shelters are all maxed out. When we sat down months ago to try to figure out this year, we knew that the recession wasn’t going to end anytime soon,” Schiff said.

To make ends meet, Schiff says his agency – and those they partner with – are trying to think creatively and become more efficient. Food pantries and soup kitchens turn to the state’s food bank to purchase food in order to cut costs. The Rhode Island Community Food Bank is able to buy food at wholesale cost, reducing the burden on smaller agencies. Thanks to donations and wholesale purchasing power, $1 can be stretched to provide three meals.

Also helping are smaller food drives run by schools, local businesses and philanthropist Allan Shawn Feinstein. This year, Feinstein charged schools will collecting canned goods, promising to match each item with $1 for the school. He says the amount collected will surpass 100,000 items this week and will likely go as high as 140,000.

“The fact that they’re bringing so much food in shows that they’re certainly aware that they have a responsibility,” Feinstein said. “Our junior scholars are very responsive to our calls.”

On the national level, he expects the Fight to End Hunger campaign to raise $190 million. “I can tell you that around the world, every 3.5 seconds someone dies from hunger,” he said.

That statistic is being brought home with continued layoffs and business closings, which Schiff says is a visual reminder of the tough times many Rhode Islanders are falling on.

“I think everyone from the large foundations to just individuals have been hurt by one way or the other by the recession. I think more people are conscious of the seriousness of the problem,” he said.

Despite his fears, Schiff said that donations so far are still high and that regular donors continue to give. He is confident that residents will rise to the occasion.

“People have been unbelievably generous. I think the people who have jobs and who are working feel lucky and want to do something for people who are in need.”