Tuesday’s expiration of pandemic-related padding to food stamp allotments is expected to push already taxed food banks and pantries to the limit, according to leaders from Colorado Springs charities that feed the hungry.

Inflation and historically high food costs already have led more people in the past year to turn to organizations for food assistance, said Jeane Turner, spokeswoman and special events director for the El Paso County Salvation Army church and its social outreach programs for low-income seniors, military veterans and homeless families.

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“Our numbers have gone up significantly, to the point that our shelves are nearly bare of nonperishable items,” Turner said. “We’re really struggling already.”

Bags of free food the organization distributes to the needy more than doubled in the past year, she said.

In January, the local branch handed out nearly 1,400 food bags, up from 640 bags in January 2022, Turner said.

Additional emergency benefits for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, commonly known as food stamps, are decreasing by $90 per person per month as of Wednesday, or by $360 a month for a family of four.

Officials foresee what could be an unprecedented spike in demand.

“It’s going to be affecting families more than it already has been,” Turner said.

Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado also anticipates intensified need from its nearly 300 distributors, which include food pantries, soup kitchens, schools, senior agencies and other sites.

“We expect to see a new group of people,” said Nate Springer, president and CEO of Care and Share, the region’s primary supplier of edible goods to 31 of 64 counties in the state.

Sherry Eisler-Carroll, who was picking up groceries Tuesday from a Care and Share mobile market that stopped at The Villa at Sunny Vista, an apartment complex for low-income and disabled seniors, said she’ll do what she can to make ends meet, as her SNAP benefits are reduced.

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“I bought a bunch and filled up my pantry before,” she said. “After this it’s going to be a struggle.”

Food stamp recipients are scared and frustrated and don’t understand why this is happening, said Nonie Rispin, SNAP coordinator for Care and Share.

“I think it’s going to affect a tremendous amount of people in a bad way,” she said.

Much of the extra funding infused into the economy during the pandemic is winding down, with the emergency food stamp boost one of the last to go, Springer said.

“We knew it was going to happen at some time, but the timing is difficult,” he said.

Organizations are issuing a call to action in appealing to the community for help.

Through agreements with grocery stores, the Salvation Army has been able to keep up with demand for fresh produce, dairy and frozen meats, Turner said.

But what the organization desperately needs are nonperishable items such as pasta and sauce, peanut butter and jelly, rice, macaroni and cheese, canned fruits and vegetables, canned tuna, bags or cans of beans and “Meal Helper” boxes, she said.

Donations can be dropped off 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Salvation Army’s headquarters, 908 Yuma St. in Colorado Springs.

Monetary contributions can be made at HelpColoradoSprings.com.

Care and Share also relies on contributions of food, money and volunteerism, Springer said.

Because the organization buys in bulk, every dollar donated pays for about five meals in southern Colorado, he said.

Financial donations may be made online at https://careandshare.org/give/give-food/.

Families, churches, service organizations, classrooms, businesses and other groups regularly hold food drives in their neighborhoods or workplaces and deliver the goods to Care and Share’s distribution center at 2605 Preamble Point in Colorado Springs, Springer said.

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Virtual fundraisers also are becoming more popular, he said.

Up to 7,000 volunteers annually help get packaged food out across southern Colorado, Springer said.

Whether individually or collectively, “There’s something for everybody to get behind,” he said. “Maybe there’s never been a more important time to look at food security, and we appreciate the community responding to the need.”