Smith said charities and social service organizations have seen a 30 percent decrease in donations this year as the “recession has taken people who were living at the margin and pushed them” into poverty. “Every site I work with says they are seeing more people,” he said. For example, the Truth Ministries homeless shelter has begun serving free meals to as many as a dozen walk-ins in addition to residents of the shelter in recent months, Smith said.

Meanwhile, the Davenport Hotel – Feed Spokane’s largest donor up until now – had to cut its food contributions in half as its convention business declined, he said. Unused food from the Davenport’s banquet kitchen is frozen and delivered to the Women and Children’s Free Restaurant, which feeds about 125 people three times a week. If there is anything left over, it will be sent to other meal sites, such as Hope House or Crosswalk, Smith said. Spokane’s capacity for generosity and volunteerism seems bottomless, Smith said.

“I am amazed at how much gets done in Spokane when it comes to meeting the needs of those in crisis.”