Those who regarded this county's ongoing economic growth as grounds for unfettered optimism about the future probably were taken aback by a front-page story in Wednesday's Butler Eagle dealing with the county's food cupboards.

The story delivered the troubling message that difficult times still are very much a fact of life for many individuals and families who call this county home. And, even more troubling to many people has to be the realization that, despite the progress being made on many fronts, that good news is being undermined by the greater need afflicting an apparently increasing number of people.

That can't be comforting to those whose job it is to promote the good things this county has to offer. The information in the story should be regarded as a signal to officials that new, innovative ways of addressing existing needs must be identified and implemented in an expeditious way.

Butler County's food cupboards are a legitimate barometer for gaining perspective of the scope of need. If people don't greatly tap the supply of food available, that is a signal that poverty and other associated problems have become less formidable and, presumably, will be easier to adequately address.

But currently, as Wednesday's story pointed out, the county's food cupboards are struggling — struggling with the reality of depleted food supplies at the same time client lists are becoming longer.

The concern is not limited to the decreased supply of available food. The prospect of much-higher heating costs over the next five or six months has made the possibility of "smooth sailing" for the cupboards' clients much less likely.

Meanwhile, the county government, which is dealing with its own financial challenges for now and the coming year, has served notice to the food cupboards that they must strive for greater independence — meaning that they must use their own initiative to find ways to keep their shelves stocked for their clients' well-being.

Rightly or wrongly, county leaders have blamed state budget constraints as part of the reason for their words of caution to the food cupboards. It isn't that the county has received less money; the county received $176,851 this fiscal year compared with $172,123 in fiscal 2004-05. It's the fact that the number of families using food cupboards has significantly increased. In July 2003, 1,277 families made use of the cupboards; in July 2004, 1,490; and in July 2005, 1,589.

A $4,728 increase in state funding doesn't go very far when that amount of additional use is in play.

June Naugle, a director of the Butler County Community Action and Development agency, which distributes state and federal assistance to the cupboards, confirmed that view in pointing out that "it's hard to say we got more money" because of the higher client count.

"We were trying to instill in them (cupboards) the fact that the money isn't going far enough," she said.

Besides money from the state, the cupboards are helped by random amounts of food received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program. That food is a godsend but not enough to meet the level of need that exists.

The food cupboard situation boils down to the need for community members and service organizations to become more involved in helping the cupboards stay adequately stocked. The challenge for the cupboards is to get their message of need out to those who can help — on an ongoing basis, rather than waiting for a supply crisis.

The food cupboards are a valuable resource for addressing the needs of those less fortunate. People must not allow the county's growth to conceal the fact that not everyone, for whatever reason, has the good fortune to be reaping the benefits of that progress.

Hopefully, Wednesday's story reacquainted many caring people to the food cupboard challenges that apparently will remain a very real part of life in this county for the long — rather than short — term.