As the largest local food bank's busiest season comes to a close, the agency has 12,000 pounds less food than it had last year to feed the hungry.

The food bank received 40,437 pounds of donated food between October and November 2015, but only 28,242 pounds during that same span this year, said Loretta Griffis, outreach coordinator for Bread of the Mighty.

Between October and Dec. 31 last year, the food bank collected 67,525 pounds of food, she said. Through Nov. 30, she said, less than 30,000 pounds has been collected.

Bread of the Mighty benefited from 94 food drives last year, and roughly the same number this year, with 90. But the difference, she said, is that the amount being donated is much smaller than it's been in recent years.

Governmental agencies, businesses, churches, individuals, organizations and others are encouraged to organize food drives to help feed the many people who need it in Alachua, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette and Levy counties. She said anyone interested in organizing a food drive should call her at 352-336-0839 weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Though it's not required, Griffis said she likes people interested in organizing food drives to tour the food bank so they can get a first-hand look at what happens there daily.

Marcia Conwell, executive director of Bread of the Mighty, said donors are welcome to give money to help feed the hungry. Every $1 pays for seven meals, she said.

There are approximately 259,000 people living in Alachua County, and the food bank could really put a dent in hunger if 50,000 people committed to donating $1 weekly or monthly to Bread of the Mighty, she said.

“Just imagine the impact we could have if we got that kind of commitment from the community,” Conwell said.

Grocery stores donate dairy, meat and produce to the food bank, and the food bank buys nonperishable foods. She said the food bank is in need of rice, canned foods, peanut butter, jelly, soups, crackers, oatmeal, macaroni and cheese and other foods that have long shelf lives.

Conwell said one of four children, one of five senior citizens and one of six working poor don't always have the food they need in the five-county area served by Bread of the Mighty.

Conwell has worked at Bread of the Mighty for 15 years, and she said this is the worst year she's seen for food drive donations in the past five to six years. The food bank supports 172 food pantries, 124 of which are in Alachua County.

The Alan and Cathy Hitchcock/Field and Fork Pantry at the University of Florida, which opened in August 2015, is one of those pantries. Amber Hobson, who oversees the pantry's daily operation, said it has received approximately 25,000 to 30,000 pounds of food this year.

“We have a huge variety of groups that donate food to us, including Hitchcock, Earth Fare, Publix and many others,” Hobson said.

Griffis said the UF food pantry is not taking away from Bread of the Mighty's numbers because as an arm of the food bank, the UF food pantry numbers are included in the Bread of the Mighty numbers.

“They are one of our agencies,” she said.

Bread of the Mighty may still end up having a lot of food come in from holiday drives because, according to Griffis, some sponsors of holiday food drives have yet to turn in food they collected. She said those organizations should turn the food they collected into the food bank ASAP, and she urged others to donate food.

"Anyone can help us out by donating food," Griffis said. "We have had children ask people to give them food for their birthdays so they can turn it in to us."

Another way people can help is by taking advantage of "buy-one-get-one-free" deals at grocery stores, said Conwell, adding that Publix and Hitchcock's will keep the items for the food bank to pick up.

"We have a caring and giving community, and people always answer the call when we need help," Conwell said. "I'm sure the community is going to respond once the word gets out that we need help feeding the less fortunate and hungry."

Bread of the Mighty has pantries at nine public schools in Alachua County, with eight more on a waiting list. She said Publix donated the freezers and refrigerators used by the pantries.

The food bank will always stretch what it has as far as it can, but without a strong surge in donations this month, Conwell said, the end of the year and the start of 2017 could be bleak.

“People are going to still be hungry the day after Christmas, and Bread of the Mighty is still going to have to provide them with food,” she said. “We distribute food throughout the year because people are hungry throughout the year, and not just during the holidays.”