(Aaron Doucett / Unsplash )With the holidays coming up Louisville food pantries are preparing for a surge in demand as more families struggle to put food on the table.Alexus Richardson, a spokesperson for nonprofit food bank Dare to Care, said the organization is seeing some of the highest levels of food insecurity since the Great Recession in 2008. Since July, she said, the organization has seen demand reach 200,000 people.“What we are seeing ahead of the holidays is that people are really struggling,” Richardson said. “They're struggling with utilities, with gas, with food, and they are looking to food pantries to help fill in that gap.”The growing demand comes amid changes to federal food assistance programs. An analysis of United States Department of Agriculture data shows 5.5 million fewer Americans received SNAP benefits in July compared with the same month last year. That decline began President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending law took effect.Richardson said Dare to Care distributed 26 million pounds of food last year, the equivalent of roughly 22 million meals. But program cuts have contributed to a 2-million-pound decline in food distribution, leaving the organization working to meet growing needs with fewer resources.And, increasingly, those seeking help include people who never imagined they would need a food pantry, she said.Richardson recalled speaking with a woman who, along with her husband, spent two decades building a business and saving for retirement. Even after selling the business, their savings weren't enough to make ends meet.“She visits one of our food pantries after saving for retirement, and she said it just wasn't enough,” Richardson said.It's a reality Sara Langmeyer, with Southwest Community Ministries, knows all too well.The organization, a Dare to Care partner, provides food assistance along with help paying rent and utility bills. Appointments are required for most visits to the food pantry, which has walk-in hours one Friday a month. Langmeyer said the number of families seeking assistance for the first time is growing.“We're putting new families into our database on a pretty regular basis throughout the week,” she said. “The volunteer that I had come in last Wednesday to work the front desk told me that we only had seven appointments that day, and five of them weren't in the system.”And with the holidays approaching, families face another challenge.Langmeyer said demand often increases when children are out of school for holiday breaks. For families already stretching every dollar, the loss of school breakfast and lunch programs can create an additional financial burden.She said the pantry tries to prepare by stocking up on kid-friendly snacks and other foods families prefer while children are home.For some households, school breaks mean providing one or even two additional meals per child each day, she said. Those extra costs can add up quickly.Both organizations said they remain committed to meeting the community's needs, but with demand rising and resources stretched thin, they are calling on the public to help.Dare to Care is hosting a community food giveaway on Friday, Nov. 20, at 2 p.m. at 1200 South 20th St. in Louisville. There are no prerequisites for receiving food.As families prepare to gather around their holiday tables, local food pantries are working to make sure those struggling to make ends meet have food on theirs, too. ...read more read less