The cupboards are pretty bare at the Owen Sound Salvation Army Food bank this fall.
Captain Colin Bain says demand in August was up dramatically compared to a year ago.
Bain says the increase was about 68 per cent as laid off workers E-I started to run out.
In raw numbers, the Salvation Army helped 168 families a year ago, and this August it was 268 families.
Captain Bain says thanks to the generosity of Owen Sound and area residents they had enough food and cash donations to make it to the summer, but at one point they had to bring in food from the Port Elgin office to fill the need here.
Bain says the Port Elgin location still had enough food on hand for it’s demand.
The Salvation army will launch it’s annual Thanksgiving Food drive early in October.
Bain says food donations will be welcome, but cash is even better because they can turn a one dollar donation into 7 dollars in food with the deals they have with grocers in Ontario.