"I’ve never seen it this bad at this time of year," were the comments uttered by Bob Pearce, operations director at the Good News Rescue Mission in Redding.

Bob would know. He was once the director of food services.

With the economy faltering and the housing market in retreat, the Mission has experienced a one-two punch with donations down on all fronts and a sharp increase in people with needs. Earlier this year the Mission announced it had seen donations fall by more than 20 percent versus the same time last year.

In the South County, Anderson Cottonwood Christian Assistance (ACCA) is experiencing some of the same challenges – greater demand for services and fewer donations, said Lyle R. Amlin, who handles publicity for the non-profit agency.

Locally the economic slowdown is reflected in the substantial increase in the number of people receiving food boxes from ACCA, it was reported at a recent meeting of the agency’s board of directors. For the first four months of 2008, a total of 1,628 food boxes were distributed, compared to 1,405 for the same period last year. That is an increase of nearly 16 percent for the time period.

“We are seeing a lot of new people come in for emergency foods now,” said Mike Evans, a director who made the count report. The requests are often from “people who never thought that they would be needing emergency food, but with the costs of groceries and gasoline increasing as it has, they find they just don’t have enough money to go around,” Evans added. The local food bank, which is open Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., is located at 2979 East Center St. in Anderson. The agency provided basic foods to 4,545 households during the first four months of 2008. Many of the recipients were monthly repeat families, showing the on-going need for food for those people who fall below the poverty mark.

Not included in the above figures were the 863 sacks of bread and pastries given out during March and April to clients who came in during the month asking for additional assistance on top of the once-monthly food boxes. “We have seen a big increase in the bread and pastries,” said Bill Thurman, site manager for ACCA, “and we are in need of plastic sacks and the large kraft paper bags which we use for the bread and pastries.”

Donations of canned and dry foods, along with cleaning supplies and sanitary items are always needed and accepted, as are cash donations, Thurman says, noting that local residents can bring their donations of food and other items to the ACCA office on Tuesdays and Fridays when it is open or call to arrange for a special delivery time. “We also are willing to accept any locally grown fresh produce that area gardeners may find an over-abundance of,” he said. “We are able to distribute almost anything grown by home gardeners, from zucchinis and tomatoes to yellow squash and carrots,” he said.

Growers who have large loads of garden produce are urged to call ACCA at 365-4220 during the agency’s open hours, or contact Thurman via cell phone at 604-5503. ACCA is an organization of 14 local area churches. It was organized 21 years ago to provide emergency food to area residents.