Last year at this time, the Moniteau Food Pantry had $15,000 set aside to offset need during the holiday season. This year, the pantry is down to $6,000.

“It's not like we're going to close down, but we definitely need some funding,” said director Cindy Morrison, explaining the pantry serves more than 160 families per month.

The balancing act is all too familiar to many local food cupboards that are serving more clients with fewer resources.

The food banks often depend on community donations to supplement bags of food received from the Butler County Community Action and Development Agency.

Community Action uses state funds to purchase food and also distributes food obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Emergency Food Assistance Program.

As of September, Community Action served 2,188 families — including 197 first-time families, said spokeswoman Debbie Gould. The number is up significantly from last September, when 1,994 families received food.

The agency has not yet received its final budget information but is making do with about $10,000 less per month from the government than at this time last year, Gould said.

The budget cuts are felt countywide, said Morrison.

“We're just not getting the amount of food from the government that we were getting,” Morrison said. “We were getting, six months ago, sometimes 190 cases, and we dropped down to maybe 40 or 50 cases. There was one month with about 27 cases.”

As state and federal allocations are cut, ongoing economic woes and the expiration of unemployment benefits will no doubt lead more families to seek assistance this holiday season, said Iris Valanti, director of communications for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

The organization serves 11 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania, including Butler County.

“About 16,000 people will lose their unemployment benefits in December alone,” said Valanti, citing research by nonprofit organization Just Harvest.

“We presume that people get laid off and get unemployment for awhile or have savings, and when those resources run out, they come to us.”

More families than ever are seeking assistance at St. Vincent DePaul Food Cupboard, which serves about 800 families a month.

“There's just not enough food, it's as simple as that,” said Nick Monday, who volunteers at the East Locust Street distribution center.

“We keep asking for more donations, and sometimes we have to cut down on the sizes of the boxes that we put out,” Monday said.

“Everybody gets a little bit less.”

Last December, Gleaners Food Cupboard served a record-breaking 129 families. Since then, client numbers have held steady and are expected to increase as the holidays begin, said Linda Heery, director of the food bank in Cranberry Township.

Cabot United Methodist Food Bank served 105 families in October, above their average of about 90 families per month.

“With the economy and people losing their jobs, we have people coming that have never come before,” said Sue Shaltes, co-director of the Cabot United Methodist Food Bank. “Once people sign up, they usually come for awhile.”

The cupboard typically serves about 100 families in November and December, so Shaltes is expecting need to increase even more than normal during the holidays.

“I'm surprised they're this high already,” Shaltes said.

To compensate, Gould said Community Action must purchase food more wisely each month.

“Maybe we're not going to purchase as many high-cost items like meat or tuna,” she said.

“Or we may be buying less of that so we can buy more vegetables, fruits or juices.”

Donations of food and money are needed now more than ever by local food banks, Valanti said.

Another problem is that food manufacturers now sell more surplus items to the secondary market rather than donating leftover goods to charity, Valanti said, which leaves food banks scrambling to fill the gaps.

People may have the means to buy food if they are receiving assistance like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but have trouble affording other home goods, Gould said.

Food cupboards also accept household items like paper products, toothpaste, pet food and laundry detergent. Baby items, like cereal, jarred food and diapers, are also sorely needed, Morrison said.