At the Salvation Army’s food pantry in Birmingham, a line of cars wrap around the building. A center that serves 50 families on a typical Tuesday is suddenly serving hundreds, mirroring the trend of lines stretching at food banks and pantries around the country.

Some Alabama food pantries are worried the new demand could push them to the breaking point, while food banks, which help supply food pantries, have had to adapt on the fly in the wake of COVID-19.

The economic pain caused by the coronavirus pandemic has led to an explosion in demand for Alabama’s food pantries and food banks. And while some banks and pantries have had to adjust their operations to compensate for the spike in need, others are having difficulty sustaining the demand and are living on the economic edge. As more and more Alabamians struggle to put food on their tables, Alabama’s food banks are struggling to meet the demand.

Some food pantries are running out of money, others out of food, and some have run out of volunteers.

Requests for food assistance at the United Way’s 2-1-1 program in Alabama are up 700 percent from the previous month, according to the latest statistics. Meanwhile, more than $6.6 million in COVID-19 related unemployment compensation was paid out to Alabamians last week.

“Food sourcing and being able to finance the food that we need has become a serious problem in our day-to-day operations,” said Jim Jones, founder of Sylacauga-based Alabama Childhood Food Solutions, which serves Shelby, Talladega, Tallapoosa and Coosa counties and is one of the largest food pantries in central Alabama.

The faith-based pantry typically serves 2,000 children a week, but more than 8,000 kids were fed in the last three weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic, Jones said. About 700 families also use the pantry, but an additional 100 families are now food insecure in the pantry’s service area due to COVID-19.

Alabama Childhood Food Solutions has a weekly budget of $24,000, and Jones said the pantry only has funding to stay open the next three months. Beyond that, “we’ve got to find some money,” he said.

In Alabama’s Wiregrass region, fewer than 25 percent of the 100 food pantries are open because of a volunteer shortage, according to David Hanks, executive director of the Wiregrass Area Food Bank.

The closings are occurring at a time when food-insecure Alabamians need them most. The food bank distributed 40 percent more food last month than in March 2019, an increase from 261,000 pounds of food delivered to 365,000 pounds delivered last month.

Instead of leaning on corporate food donations, the food bank is now relying on non-traditional suppliers such as distributors who traditionally serviced now-shuttered restaurants and schools and are looking for other places to ship their food.

At Mission Point Marketplace, which operates a food pantry supported by thrift stores in Ozark and Midland City, the situation is dire, according to Pastor Haley Enfinger.

Mission Point needs to raise $20,000 a month to sustain operations at the pantry and its homeless shelter but sales at the thrift stores have dropped 80 percent during the pandemic.

“Our revenue stream has changed,” Enfinger said. “We can do one month and then after that we have to look at what adjustments need to be made. We live from paycheck to paycheck and from donation to donation.”

Mission Point laid off two full-time employees so the workers can collect unemployment and the nonprofit can stay afloat.

Finding volunteers has also been difficult because of health concerns, Enfinger said.

“They’re scared. A lot of folks are scared that they’re going to get the virus and it’s going to kill them, so they’re not roaming like they used to,” he said.

In Montgomery, the area food bank is now operating more like a food pantry with 30 percent of pantries closed.

“We have folks that are coming to the food bank here for help. We normally act more like a distribution center,” said Rich Deen, CEO of the Montgomery Area Food Bank. “We’ve had a number of our agencies that have had to close, and the main reason for that is they don’t have too many volunteers or they have volunteers that are elderly and they don’t want to put them in harm’s way.”

The Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, which serves a 12-county area and 250 service agencies, including food pantries and shelters, has had to make similar adjustments. Its mobile pantries have increased capacity by 50 percent and they have implemented a drive-thru method of distribution because of the virus. The food bank has had to close its doors to volunteers to protect the safety of its hired staff.

“We’ve seen a spike in the need. We’ve had folks that are laid off calling us,” said Elizabeth Wix, director of partnerships and interim executive manager of the food bank. “It’s been an interesting time, it’s been very busy for us. We’ve had to think on our feet very quickly.”

Wix said their food bank’s funding is not an issue – monetary donations spiked to $54,000 last week compared to $4,000 from the same seven-day period last year, a thirteen-fold jump. The challenge is securing enough food to meet all of the demand, although the bank’s operations are not in danger from the pandemic.

Half of the bank’s food is typically supplied by retail stores like Walmart, Sam’s Club and Publix, but supply is low. And the increase in demand means the food bank has had difficulty getting its orders fulfilled by other suppliers.

Alabama Childhood Food Solutions is having similar problems.

“There are so many people that appear to be hoarding food in their homes,” Jones said. “That it is cutting down on the supply available to food pantries not only in Sylacauga, but around the state. We can’t find the products that we need to share and there will come a time where product availability will have a serious impact on our sharing.”

Jean Rykaczewski, executive director of the West Alabama Food Bank, said besides demand tripling in the bank’s service area, the coronavirus does not pose a threat to its operations.

“Nothing has changed except for the amount of [food] insecure people for us,” she said.

At the Salvation Army food pantry at 2015 26th Ave. North in Birmingham, where vehicles were turned away Wednesday, the 300 percent increase in demand is only expected to jump even further the longer the pandemic goes on, according to Major Charles Powell, area commander of the Salvation Army for Greater Birmingham.

“I believe that that number is going to continue to grow as the people get further and further from their last paycheck,” Powell said. “They’re going to wonder, ‘how am I going to feed my family?’ or ‘how am I going to pay this month’s rent?’”

Rykaczewski was optimistic those supplying needy Alabamians with food would weather the crisis.

“We will get through this,” she said. “The food banks in this state are in position to make this work.”

To help support you local food bank or food pantry, or to find a food pantry near you to receive food, visit the Alabama Food Bank Association.