Workers at some of Chicago's social service agencies say they're seeing increased demand for food assistance, less than a week before Thanksgiving.
Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson stopped by the Salvation Army's Freedom Center on Thursday to check in with people working to stock its food pantry.
But when he got there, the cupboard was bare ... almost.
"We've found a lot more families coming in needing to utilize the food bank, so that's had us clear out our shelves quickly," said Andrew Ward, the business operations manager at the Freedom Center, 825 N. Christiana.
Ward says the number of families coming in for food assistance has doubled from 15-20 families a day to more than 40, and sometimes as many as 60.
"It's really really had a huge impact on our weekly operations," he said, surveying empty shelves at the facility's food pantry.
Salvation Army spokesperson Brian Duewel says all of the charity's facilities are seeing increased need: "With inflation, people are feeling that pinch ... more people are losing their jobs right now."
And the interruption of federal SNAP food benefits is also fueling an increase in demand.
"A lot of families, they have to make a decision between: do I pay the electric bill or do I put food in the pantry?" Duewel said, also noting that the holiday season further complicates things for families trying to budget for kids' presents.
Duewel says they're hoping to raise a million dollars from the Red Kettle drive that started this week ... and $12 million over their holiday fundraising campaign.