Inexpensive sources of food used to be abundant, said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks.

"We're finding that local food systems are vulnerable (now)."

The annual rate of increase of food prices for the first six months of this year was 8 percent, said Patrick Jackman, an economist with the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last year, the rate was 1.4 percent, and the year before, 1.7 percent.

"That's a huge jump this year," Jackman said.

The amount of donated food Second Harvest had available to distribute in the first quarter of this year dropped to 9.8 million pounds from 10.5 million for the same period last year, Hamler-Fugitt said. Overall, including federal, state and purchasing programs, Second Harvest is down 2.8 million pounds of food, an 11.5 percent decrease.

A drop that large means much less food for the people in need, she said.

However, the two-year state budget that took effect July 1 will give the organization $7 million a year. It also is working on getting a grant that would bring the total to $18 million over the biennium.

The previous state budget provided $5.5 million a year. The additional money should help as long as food prices don't increase too much more, Hamler-Fugitt said.

Donors, who include individuals, retailers, corporations and manufacturers, are the largest source of food for Second Harvest, she said.

As retailers and manufacturers improve their marketing practices and inventory management, charities will have to rely more on individual donors and federal aid, said Evelyn Behm, associate director of the Mid-Ohio FoodBank.

Rising prices for food and other necessities make people less likely to donate, Hamler-Fugitt said, because they are worried about their own economic situation.

"People don't give to charity if they're concerned about rising gasoline prices or housing costs," she said.

Help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture commodities program decreased for the Mid-Ohio FoodBank from about 5 million pounds of food in 2005 to 4.3 million pounds last year, Behm said, which is most likely going to be a trend.

Each state receives a set amount of commodities based on a formula, Hamler-Fugitt said. Bonus commodities become available if the secretary of agriculture declares a surplus, buys the surplus back and then offers it to states.

Over the past few years, the number of bonus commodities has declined, she said.

Food prices have increased for a number of reasons, Jackman said, including higher prices for corn because of its potential to be turned into ethanol and used as fuel. Higher gasoline prices mean it costs more to get food to market.

bwroten@dispatch.com