LONDON — As panicked shoppers in Britain empty supermarket shelves and hoard goods amid the coronavirus outbreak, food banks that depend on donations are struggling to stay afloat, and some have been forced to shut down.

Vulnerable families who depend on emergency food packages to survive received limited supplies this week as food banks across Britain fell short on items like pasta, tinned vegetables, long-life milk, baby food, diapers and toilet paper. And the winter months, when people in crisis are less likely to meet the basic costs of living, are particularly critical.

“It’s very scary, because everyone is walking around with bags and trolleys full of food stocking up for the next few months, while I’m worrying about whether I have enough food to feed the children this week,” said Angie Fowler, a mother of three who depends on the Chalk Farm food bank in northern London. “If this place closes down, I don’t know what we’ll do. We have no backup.”