While retailers are working hard to get you into their stores — the commercials started before kids had even shucked off their Halloween costumes — the staff at Maple Valley Food Bank and Emergency Services were working on feeding the hungry this holiday season.

Executive Director Lila Henderson said food bank staff expect at least as much demand for services this year as they did last year, with it being quite likely there will be an increase in requests for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, as well as more need for gifts for children.

The need during the holidays is in line with the higher volume of requests for services MVFB has seen since the economy dipped into a recession in 2008.

“We have seen since that huge increase, that 50 percent increase three years ago, every year it has been steadily going up but it’s much smaller…,” Henderson said. “It’s still going up, it’s staying steady. We’re seeing clients staying longer with the food bank… we’re seeing returning clients, people who went away, who got on their feet, but with the economy changing they’re coming back. We’re seeing an increase in clients who have never been to our food bank, middle class people who just did not think that would ever happen to them.”

On the days the food bank is open, Henderson said, there is an average of 100 families served.

And Maple Valley Food Bank serves more than just residents of the Tahoma School District, but, those in Covington and other areas, as well.

During the holidays, Henderson said, the expectation is to serve at least as many families as last year when more than 1,000 dinners were served to families combined for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The food bank needs help filling the need, especially if there’s an increase in demand as Henderson expects, for both holidays.

“We need people to go out and get our flier and fill that out,” Henderson said. “Every family gets a turkey (at Thanksgiving and Christmas). It’s one of those things for our clients, it’s not just one meal, it’s many meals.”

Donations of turkeys, and other foods, are welcome. Financial donations can also be made online with the money going to cover the cost of items that go with the holiday meal. Giving cash is just as good as, if not better than, donating food because the food bank has connections to organizations that can provide products at lower prices than the average consumer pays at the grocery store.

For Thanksgiving, donations need to be made by Nov. 19, and for Christmas the deadline to provide items is Dec. 15.

“The really important thing is we really need to stress for people within our communities that the need for these items…  from an operational standpoint we’ve lost state and federal funding, we’re operating with less dollars, rising costs and less help, so I really need support to keep the programs going like they have in the past,” Henderson said. “Due to all the cuts happening at the state level… we will be impacted because people are losing the minimal services they had. We will have to fill in more gaps.”

It’s important to note that families who wish to receive holiday dinners or participate in the Christmas gift store must pre-register.

In addition to feeding families, Henderson said, the food bank provides gifts for children ranging in age from birth to 15 years old. Gifts for teens are the most challenging. Ideas can be found on the MVFB website, www.maplevalleyfoodbank.org.

The good news, Henderson explained, is there are some significant efforts to provide for the food bank’s clients.

Both Safeway and QFC in Maple Valley, in partnership with Northwest Harvest and Food Lifeline respectively, will offer customers the chance to buy a $10 bag of food which will go directly to the food bank.

Local coffee shops are helping out, too, Henderson said.

Stop at City Perk, Village Coffee or Surfrider Coffee, and contribute via turkey bucks, Henderson said.

“They make so much money for us toward our turkey fund,” she said. “So when you’re going through to get your latte, give a buck toward my turkey fund, and these are three great local business.”