LORAIN, Ohio — As Thanksgiving approaches, food banks are preparing for a high demand for holiday assistance.

This year, a 32% increase in demand for services at Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio has set expectations.

“Food insecurity tends to be a symptom of a much larger problem,” said Julie Chase-Morefield, president and CEO of the organization.

She explained that many families have not fully recovered from the financial difficulties created by the pandemic. Additionally, some are feeling the impact of high housing prices, expiring pandemic-related benefits and inflation.

During the winter months, many tight budgets are stretched even further.

“There are winter coats and boots and all these little things that families have to buy. And food tends to be the easiest cost to give up,” Chase-Morefield said.

Cars began lining up Thursday hours before a mobile distribution at Black River Landing in Lorain.

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“It’s going to be packed today because of the holidays, Thanksgiving, people are going to want to get their stuff,” Robert Phillips said.

He and Barbara Davitz pulled into the parking lot two hours before Second Harvest began handing out bags of produce, canned goods and meat. They said their fixed incomes and monthly SNAP benefits weren’t enough to cover the cost of groceries.

“We don’t even get everything we need. You have to put things back. And I’m on SSI and he’s on disability, so we’re struggling. We are having a lot of difficulty,” Davitz said.

Chase-Morefield said seniors make up a large portion of the food bank’s clients, but in recent years new families and individuals have sought services, many coming to the pantries and distributions only several times a year .

She explained that the food bank is ready to meet growing demand, but also advocates for long-term solutions to address the root causes of food insecurity and for the renewal of government programs, such as Farm Bill, to support food aid.

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“We are advocating for these strong programs to be able to continue to meet the need, as we do not anticipate a decrease anytime soon,” she said.

Families told News 5 they are grateful for the resources available.

“If there is no help, everyone will go hungry. It’s that simple,” Davitz said.

Second Harvest of North Central Ohio is hosting Thanksgiving distributions in Lorain, Erie, Huron and Crawford counties ahead of the holiday. Registrations are closed, but you can register on a waiting list by BY CLICKING HERE.

The Food Bank offers numerous mobile distributions and partners with approximately 130 food pantries and other organizations. If you need food assistance in Lorain, Erie, Huron, or Crawford counties, click the “Find Food” button in the upper right corner of THIS WEBSITE.