Food pantries continue.to see a surge in customers as local charities prepare for the holiday season.

“We have served nearly double the number of people that we usually do by this time, with three more weeks to go this month,” said Connie Griffith of Fred Basket. “We still have plenty of food since FeedMore WNY, our food grant agency, has allowed us to order every week, and the community has been very generous in continuing to bring food to our door, even after our big food drive in October.”

Chautauqua County Rural Ministry’s Friendly Kitchen in Dunkirk has seen a 30% increase in customers this year, said CCRM Executive Director Bridget Majka.

Griffith said Fred Basket is “providing a complete Thanksgiving dinner to every client. That includes a turkey item, and all the usual fixings plus butter and eggs. Harvest View Nursery has given us surplus apples and squash, and we continue to get organic greens from Maggitti CSA farms.”

Griffith added, “We are glad some of the SNAP funds have been restored, and we realize it’s very difficult for those families to make up for what they’ve lost. Most of our clients are working families and seniors living on the edge as it is. We are just so pleased that we can help them with some food on a regular basis, and especially during this holiday time.”

The Friendly Kitchen will also be offering a holiday meal while also distributing Thanksgiving meals to those who signed up earlier this month.