By Linda Garrett

Tucson, AZ - Southern Arizona charities are starved for food donations this year as they gear up for their annual Thanksgiving dinners. Donations are down while the need is greater now more than ever.

Organizations like the Salvation Army and the Gospel Rescue Mission have been hit hard by the recession. This year they expect to feed more than 3,000 people each. They're in dire need of perishable and non-perishable food items such as Turkeys, stuffing, pies, cranberry sauce and milk and eggs. 

  "God tells you to give a tenth or more so I feel it's a privilege to do so," said Pauline Browder, as she dropped off a carload of goods to the Salvation Army.

With just one week to go before Thanksgiving, the shelves are surprisingly bare.

"We're looking at the numbers from last year compared to this year and we had hundreds of pies and turkeys compared to what we have today. And we start thawing and cooking this week so we're scrambling for donations," said Salvation Army spokesperson Tamara McElwee.

The charity is scrambling because it's seeing a huge increase in the number of families with children seeking assistance.

It's the same scenario at the Gospel Rescue Mission, which traditionally serves the Tucson metro area's homeless population.

"We're seeing families that have historically been working and have been paying their way and all of a sudden they find themselves in the position where they need help. They come here very humbled. The men are very embarrassed about asking for help, but they'll say I've got to do it because my kids need clothing my kids need food," said Gospel Rescue Mission coordinator Liz Lane.

Both charities expect to see overwhelming crowds at the same time the Community Food Bank plans to hand out a record number of holiday boxes.

Wednesday afternoon it got a big boost from the Arizona Association of Community Managers, a group made up of 35 Tucson area homeowners associations and about 40 local businesses. The AACM collected 2,800 pounds of food over the last month. Vice President Pauline Hechler says, while that's impressive it still has a long way to go.

"Last year we served 12,000 holiday food boxes, this year we'll hand out 15,000 maybe more. We're seeing a 36% increase in families needing help," said Hechler.

TO DONATE TO THE COMMUNITY FOOD BANK:

- Send a check to P.O. Box 26727Tucson, AZ 85726

- Call (520) 622-0525 to make an automatic contribution or to find the nearest drop off location.

TO DONATE TO GOSPEL RESCUE MISSION:

- Send your Check to 326 W. 28th St., Tucson, AZ 85713

- Call Danny Hansen at 740-1501 ext. 207 to set up an automatic contribution.

TO DONATE TO THE SALVATION ARMY:

- Send a check to 1001 N. Richey Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85716

- Call (520)795-9671 to find the nearest drop off location or contribute using your credit card.

To donate to any of the charities listed click on the organizations websites on the 'Also on the Web' links to the left.