By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Lately, Salvation Army Lt. Brian Leonard has been getting an uneasy feeling every time he walks into the organization’s food pantry in Alabaster.

“We are running really low right now,” Leonard said on Oct. 30. “The Boy Scouts do a big food drive for us in the spring, but that is starting to run low now.”

Today, the shelves in the Salvation Army’s food pantry are relatively barren compared to their usual levels, which may be a big problem with the holiday season approaching, Leonard said.

Every Thanksgiving holiday, the Salvation Army works to feed thousands of families across the United States, dozens of them in Shelby County.

“We try to hand out food to people who don’t have it on Thanksgiving,” Leonard said, noting the Alabaster Salvation Army is in “desperate” need of food donations. “But if we run out, we run out, and people will go hungry.”

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the busiest time of the year for the Salvation Army, as demand on the food pantry can sometimes double in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

“We normally help about 65 families per month,” Leonard said. “We see that go up during the Christmas season. We usually see it almost double.”

Leonard said the Salvation Army is in need of non-perishable canned food items and dry goods such as beans and rice.

“Right now, we are at the mercy of the little bit of food that we have right now,” Leonard said. “Some people may have to go away with a can of corn and green beans.”

Anyone with donations to the Salvation Army can drop them off at the organization at 108 Plaza Circle, Suite 9. To schedule a donation, or to learn more about the Salvation Army, contact the organization at 663-7105.