Families throughout the area are in even more critical need for donations of food and other resources this winter. Throughout recent years, the face of hunger has really changed. People who have faced traumatic illness, sudden unemployment or a reduction in hours are now among the people standing in line at the food pantries of the Shared Harvest Foodbank, according to their Executive Director Tina Osso.

According to Shared Harvest’s website, many families on the low end of the economic scale must skip at least ten meals each month due to a monthly income that is insufficient to feed their families. The average monthly income of a family that receives donations through their network is $822, and making ends meet on that kind of income is nearly impossible these days. Because of this, one in five children in Ohio faces the threat of going hungry every day. The majority of those serviced by their network are children, senior citizens, and disabled adults.

In 2011 Shared Harvest distributed over 3.3 million pounds of food. This year the amount of food distributed to disadvantaged families is expected to increase to 5 million pounds; a total of 3.6 million pounds has already been donated.

The Community Food Relief campaign, an annual effort among the Middletown Journal and Hamilton JournalNews, aims specifically to help friends and neighbors in the area. Last year the campaign provided over $20,000 to assist Shared Harvest Foodbank in purchasing nutritious meals for families in need. For every $1 donation, eight meals are provided for hungry families.

Donations can be made by visiting SharedHarvest.org or by sending a text message to 80888 with the word “eats” to donate $10.

Unfortunately, families in this area are not the only ones in dire need of aid this holiday season. After the East Coast suffered a crippling hurricane, families are still struggling to get back on their feet.

According to NPR news, New Jersey food banks alone are struggling to feed twice as many families as it did in previous years after recent disaster.

To aid these families, donations can be made to the Disaster Response Fund organized by the Habitat for Humanity organization by visiting habitat.org.