Pantry shelves are full, but need remains after holidays

Cupboard shelves are pretty full these days at many area food pantries as donations roll in from residents filled with the spirit of the season.

Pantry organizers say they're grateful but still concerned about what will happen when the attention they garner during the holidays dims with the arrival of the new year.

Melissa Travis, director of food services at the People's Resource Center in Wheaton, says her organization receives roughly 75 percent of its donated food for the entire year in November and December.

That's welcome, of course, but she's "really, really, really worried" about what will happen in January and beyond.

She says the pantry's shelves will empty dramatically unless people remember to continue the spirit of giving into 2010.

"People need to eat all year round," she said.

The center's pantry served 3,500 families in DuPage County during November and Travis expects about the same in December, with only a slight drop in demand in January and February.

For a list of area food pantries and how to help, visit www.communityhungernetwork.org