Thanks in part to a huge effort by residents and city staff in Issaquah and Sammamish, the Eastside Month of Concern for the Hungry last month contributed more than 77,000 pounds of food and almost $10,000 in cash donations to East King County food banks.

The cities of Bellevue, Kirkland, Issaquah, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Redmond, and Sammamish participated in the Month of Concern for the Hungry and encouraged their residents to donate food in this month-long drive.

The emphasis for the month-long drive was to “Share What You Can” and fill food bank shelves with non-perishable food items before the holidays. Eastside Month of Concern for the Hungry was a communitywide effort benefitting all local area food banks, including Hopelink, Emergency Feeding Program, ARAS Foundation, Issaquah Food Bank, Mercer Island Food Pantry and Renewal Food program.

Requests for food at local food banks are up almost 50 percent compared to 18 months ago, and at the same time donations have fallen in many areas.

Neighborhood associations, community leaders, faith organizations, businesses, hospitals and schools organized local efforts by hosting food drives and fundraising events in their city.