In the past, Feed My Sheep’s food pantry has been stacked nearly to the ceiling with food. Now, it mostly holds empty boxes.

As prices for gas and food rise, fewer people are giving to the pantry and more are in need of it, said treasurer Dan Renneker.

The Associated Press reports that oil futures blasted to a new record near $123 a barrel Tuesday. Egg prices have jumped 40 percent in the last year, and flour prices have risen 50 percent since January, raising the price of bread, cereal and other groceries.

To build up their reserves, Feed My Sheep board members are encouraging the community to give non-perishable food items during the Post Office’s food drive this week. Postal carriers started delivering notices Wednesday, and they will pick up food placed at mailboxes Saturday.

“We really need this food,” said volunteer coordinator and corresponding secretary JoAnne DeVries.

Feed My Sheep will take perishable food brought to the facility and freeze it or give it away to someone in need before it spoils. They especially need non-perishable items such as Hamburger Helper, macaroni and cheese and canned meats.

Last year, Feed My Sheep served an average of 523 families per month throughout Daviess County, giving out 119 tons of food. And demand has gone up a little this year, said Renneker.

“We’re seeing people come back that we haven’t seen in two or three years,” said secretary Lorrie Gray.

Many people in Daviess County who qualify for help from Feed My Sheep do not use the service, but if they all decided to use it about the same time, the pantry would not be able to meet the demand, said DeVries.

In past years, Feed My Sheep has received 8,000 to 12,000 pounds of food through the Post Office food drive, which they count on to supply needy families through the summer, said Renneker. Last year, they received 4,491 pounds.

Compounding the food pantry’s troubles is the rising cost to buy food from Tri-State Food Bank in Evansville. The regional food bank used to sell food to local pantries for 18 cents per pound, said Renneker, but the cost has gone up to about 23 cents per pound, meaning Feed My Sheep can’t afford to buy as much to supplement donations. They get about $10,000 per year from the United Way to pay the bills on their building at 601 W. Oak St. and buy items not donated.

Meanwhile, the USDA, which provides some items for free, has recently put some restrictions in place that make their items unusable. For example, said Renneker, one family cannot use 10 pounds of fresh asparagus, but the USDA will not allow Feed My Sheep to separate that package into smaller amounts.

With less food in stock, the pantry is tightening up the amount of it gives out. They try to continue giving the same number of items, but now some non-food items that were once considered extras are now counted in that total to make up the difference, said DeVries.

Feed My Sheep distributes groceries to the public on the third Saturday of each month and to Washington Towers residents on the first Saturday. Families get $65 to $100-worth of groceries each visit to supplement what they buy on their own or with food stamps, said DeVries.

“The more we’ve got, the more we can give away,” said Renneker.