Heather Murtagh/Daily Journal Sabrina Imbler, 14, unloads bags of cereal to be stocked at the C.A.L.L. Primrose Center in Burlingame Tuesday.

An increase in those needing help coupled with a decrease in the ability of others to give could widen the gap of meeting the food need in San Mateo County, claim nonprofits charged with helping the needy.

Local nonprofits are seeing a definite increase in the need for help as prices for food, gas and electricity goes up and layoffs and the economy affects more people. Along with the additional need for help comes a difficulty for those not seeking help to offer donations. Food costs in particular have risen about 6 percent in the past year, according to the consumer price index. Nonprofit leaders are still hopeful the growing needs can be met as the holidays approach.

“The price that people pay for the economy can’t be going hungry,” said Mary Watt, executive director of the C.A.L.L. Primrose Center in Burlingame.

The drop-in center has helped more than 225 new households this year in addition to a lot of folks who have not needed help in three or four years now returning.

“A lot of people are getting laid off. There are a lot of returnees and donations are down in food,” she said.

A telling sign of the need is how often people return for food. Individuals are able to come to the center twice a month for food. Normally people trickle in, Watt said. Recently, people are returning the first day they are eligible to receive food.

Samaritan House saw a 48 percent increase in food requests from January through June,” said Executive Director Kitty Lopez.

Second Harvest, which distributes food collected to many of the smaller local nonprofits, echoed the challenges.  

Second Harvest has experienced a 15 percent increase in people served over the past year. Food distribution is up 21 percent, meaning the clientele and the need are both growing.

The center utilizes a hotline people can call to be referred to a local place to receive food. Those calls have increased by 53 percent in the past year, said Director of Marketing and Communications Lynn Crocker.

“People are receiving help, sometimes for the first time ever. ... A lot of people have no idea how to do this. And a lot of people are embarrassed. It’s hard for people to ask for help,” said Crocker.

That said, the organizations hope for people to understand the purpose is to help those in need.

Helping cannot be done alone. The nonprofits depend largely on donations.

Second Harvest will begin its holiday food drive Oct. 14. One third of what is given out through the year is collected during the two-and-a-half-month period. Soon barrels will show up in Safeway as a more convenient place for others to drop off goods.

Every little bit counts, Crocker explained.

“There are people out there who spend $5 a day for coffee. They could give that up for one week and donate $25 to the food bank. ... People can go online and run their own food drives in their neighborhoods or with their families,” she said.

For the C.A.L.L. Primrose Center, dropping off donations works best. The basics are always a great place to start. Often people think to drop off pasta but maybe not the sauce, explained Watt. The organization takes any food item. It collects toys during the holidays and new or gently used children’s books year round.

“Prior to the last couple of months, we already felt there was a gap between food need and what we were able to give,” said Watt. “We all need to do all we can to keep that hunger gap from widening.”

Besides goods or financial contributions, the organizations are also looking for more volunteers.

Ways to help and locations to donate can be found on each organization’s Web site or by calling. For more information on the C.A.L.L. Primrose Center visit www.callprimrose.org or call 342-2255. For more information about Second Harvest visit www.secondharvestfood.org or call 610-0800. For more information about Samaritan House visit www.samaritanhouse.com or call 341-4081.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.