Food banks pushed to the limit - KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2

(NBC News) – Food and diaper banks across the country are seeing unprecedented demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.

While they’re dedicated to serving those in need, they say supplies are already being stretched thin with no end in sight.

Five thousand carloads were served by the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in recent weeks.

Drop-ins at the organization’s warehouse are up 500 percent.

“In all honesty, and this is not an easy thing as a food banker to say, we know in this particular crisis, the demand is greater than even our organization can meet,” says CEO Lisa Scales.

The same scene is playing out coast-to-coast as millions of American families find themselves unexpectedly unemployed and suddenly food insecure.

The St. Louis Diaper Bank usually distributes 200,000 diapers each month. This April it’ll be a half million.

“We maybe have enough to get through the next week, but then we’re going to have to get creative about getting those diapers,” says executive director Jess Adams.

Organizations differ right now in what they most need from their communities, be it product donations or financial contributions.