Great need for the gift of giving in WNY

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - This is the season of giving, when charities are often competing for your generosity.

And a week before Christmas, the need is great, not for toys, but for gifts of food for hundreds of families.

You hear a lot about the need for giving being great, especially during the Holiday season. Hearing it is one thing but seeing it is quite another. You might be surprised to see inside the St. Lawrence Church food pantry.

The shelves of the St. Lawrence food pantry are stocked, but in less than two days all of the food will be gone.

Father Joseph Moreno said, "That's not counting the emergencies that happen. Last year, we were locking up after midnight mass, and this grandmother come up to me in the parking lot around 1:30am last Christmas Eve. She had four kids in the car, her grandchildren, and they hadn't eaten in three days.

Distribution days are Tuesday and Thursday. But hunger doesn't wait.

Father Joe has someone knocking on his door ten times every day looking for food.

"We see it everyday, the faith-based organizations, because we're right on the front lines. It's like a triage. You see them come in and you're treating them," added Father Joe.

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It's no longer just the homeless and the unemployed. It's working class families living pay check to pay check and still falling short."

Father Joe said, "They just don't have enough money to make ends meet. By the time you pay for gas, you pay for childcare, you pay to rent and you pay for electric... We hear it all the time now  from families. They just don't have food."

It's the elderly who can't come out of their homes.

"We had a woman that called, she lives on $622 a month. She's 82 years old, and she's been eating cereal for the past few weeks."

Donations, monetary and otherwise, are down this year by upwards of 20%.

The Salvation Army's annual Red Kettle campaign has less money and fewer volunteer bell ringers.

Father Joe says it will be a struggle to get through the week. From now to Christmas the church will feed over 125 families, twice the normal amount.

"If you just look at all the pain and suffering that people are going through, it just gets overwhelming. We are saying our prayers to Father Baker for miracles, how are we going to help these people?" added Father Joe.

You can provide that miracle, if you'd like to donate to St. Lawrence.

To make a donation, visit St. Lawrence Catholic Church at 1520 E. Delavan, Buffalo NY 14215 or call (716) 892-2471.