Food pantry in dire need of donations | News

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The shelves at the Franklin Community Center food pantry are nearly empty. And what is there is disappearing fast.

Demand on the small, emergency pantry has quadrupled over the last four years as families struggle to make ends meet.

“There’s a lot more people unemployed. People are getting laid off left and right and having trouble finding work again. It forces them to have to turn to other people for help,” the center’s Bo Goliber says.

The summer seems to be a particularly tough time for the pantry because kids who normally participate in the free lunch programs are out of school, and they now rely on their parents for more food.

Goliber says it’s oftentimes the working families, the recently laid off and the working poor who come here to grab emergency items to keep them afloat for a few days. However, those items are not being replenished.

“It’s not the time of year when people think about buying a little extra at the grocery store,” she says.

That’s why Goliber is making a plea for items like peanut butter and jelly, canned fruits and vegetables, soups, rice and tuna.

“If you have the means to be able to buy an extra box of pasta, an extra jar of sauce ... It can really go a long way,” she says.

And it can make a big difference to a family who could be your neighbor.