With less than a week to go before FOOD Share's annual holiday food drive ends, officials are worried they will not have enough to feed thousands of hungry families in the months to come. "Our tone isn't cry wolf," said Sandy Bishop, chief executive officer of the nonprofit agency. "We just want people to know that we still need help."

The holiday food drive is FOOD Share's biggest of the year, with the goal to get a year's worth of food, Bishop said.

The food bank kicked off its holiday drive Nov. 12, a week earlier than years past in hopes of collecting more donations. The goal was to collect 175,000 pounds of food, said operations manager Jayson Muelder.

So far, he says, the agency has received only 70,000 pounds.

"That's not even 50 percent, and we have little more than a week to go," he said. "We've already processed those donations and turned them over to needy agencies."

Bishop said 175,000 pounds of food may sound like a lot, but in reality it doesn't go very far.

"It won't last long, maybe about two months," Muelder added. "That leaves us scrambling the other 10 months of the year."

He said only 25,000 families of four could be fed with that amount of food, but the agency feeds about 38,000 people a month.

Food banks across the country are struggling to keep their shelves stocked as manufacturers are tightening inventory control and stores have been selling off inventory to secondary merchants like the 99-cent stores. That means fewer donations to food banks.

"Anytime the stores can recoup hard dollars, they will," Muelder said. "And manufacturers aren't producing until they've received an order. Their efficiency means less is available."

The food bank needs healthy, nutritious foods, and proteins like canned meat, tuna and peanut butter are in high demand.

"These items are the hardest to come by," Bishop said.

Donations of canned vegetables and fruits, rice, beans and pasta are also being sought.

"We want to make sure people are eating healthy," said Fran McNeil, program director of FOOD Share. "We don't want them to just be full."

A lot of people donate snack foods, Bishop said, "but the push in food banking has really been toward healthy, nutritious choices," she added.

The food drive is not just to collect food donations. It's about heightening awareness of hunger, Bishop said.

McNeil agreed saying that "hunger is year-round."

"We need everyone to take that final push and help us reach our goal," Muelder said. "It's important to keep going."

In addition to donations of nonperishable food, the agency is seeking monetary donations.

"One dollar can be leveraged for approximately $18 worth of food," McNeil said. "We're able to purchase food at a discount, and so a dollar can go a long way for us."