The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks has used 95 percent of the $2 million it received from the state in July to buy surplus meat, eggs, fruit and vegetables.

"I've never seen anything like it in 20 years in this business," said Matt Habash, executive director of the Mid-Ohio FoodBank, which serves 20 central and eastern Ohio counties. A truckload of 29,040 cans of beef stew or 13,608 boxes of cereal lasts one day instead of weeks, he said.

The Mid-Ohio FoodBank is distributing 2.4 million pounds of food a month, 400,000 pounds more than two months ago - a 20 percent increase, Habash said.

In Cincinnati, "we're experiencing similar problems," said Michael Hanrahan, chief financial officer at the FreeStore/FoodBank, which provides food and clothing to people in 20 counties in southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana.

Hanrahan said demand has risen 20 percent since last year but donations have not kept pace.

He pointed to the economy, this year's hurricanes and even increased efficiency among food manufacturers, which often contribute overruns and seconds.

"They're just getting more and more efficient, and there's less coming to food banks," Hanrahan said.

Some pantries have been forced to reduce hours or reduce what they give each family to make the food last longer. A few with paid staff have asked employees to forgo paychecks.

Part of the shortage is due to food and supplies being sent to hurricane-devastated Florida or flooded southeast Ohio, where more than 200 families remain homeless from storms.

Also, the state's economy has been slow to bounce back. Strapped food manufacturers are diverting products to secondary markets, such as discount stores, instead of food pantries.

The presidential election has also played a part, with traditional donors to food pantries giving money to political causes instead, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

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Enquirer staff writer Liz Oakes contributed.