pantries when their freezers are ….

pantries when their freezers are full,” said Schultz. “We have had a lot of donations from businesses.”

“It’s been very wonderful,” added Abegglen. “We have got lots of donations, everyone has been so generous. We had some very generous families in Spencer. Lately, this has been helping up to 20 families per month. It just picked up in the last two months.”

The uptick in traffic to the food pantry is something that Hare, Schultz and Abegglen said they have gotten somewhat used to in the past few months. The holidays are always a time of increased traffic to the food pantry, and with this year already seeing higher numbers of families in need, they have been doing everything that they can to make sure everyone that comes to the pantry leaves with enough food.

“We’re serving more people all the time,” said Hare. “We’ve got lot of new customers this year, and we are open to all people in need of food. We have enough to give to everyone.”

For the volunteers at the pantry, getting people who are in need to come is one of the most important things that they can do. With families out there still struggling with the basics, they said it is important for them to know that there are places that can help them get food so they can focus their attention on their other needs.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize they can come down here and get food,” said Hare. “We always tell people take care of your bills first and come down to get food. We can help them with that.”

The Loyal Food Pantry is open on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m., Wednesday from 2:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. The Greenwood Food Pantry is open on the first and third Wednesday of the every month from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. and the Spencer Food Pantry is open on Mondays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.