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A "triple whammy" that includes a sinking economy and rising need for help is slamming the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in Duquesne.

"In September, our warehouse inventory was as low as I've ever seen it," says Iris Valanti, food bank spokeswoman.

The food bank is spending $170,000 of its own savings to boost supplies, but with winter fast approaching, it's going to need outside help.

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And that help might be hard to come by. Valanti says the food bank just sent out fundraising letters to people who have donated money in the past.

One man wrote back that he's been donating money for 17 years. This year, he isn't sending anything. Instead, he's a client of the food bank.

"People on the low ends, the working poor, used to maybe send us $50 a year," Valanti says. "Now they need the money for gas."

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It's not just small cash donations that are threatened. Charitable foundations that make large grants to the food bank are watching their investment incomes vanish in the stock market's swoon.

And some manufacturers who used to donate "extra" cans and boxes to the food bank now sell them to dollar stores or other discounters at a profit. Others who used to route a truck or two to the food bank can't afford the diesel fuel.

"We're fighting on three fronts," Valanti says. "We have less to work with and more people who need it."

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Although the official unemployment rate in the Pittsburgh area (5.4 percent) is actually lower than the state's reported 5.7 percent, there are still plenty of people out of work.

Take service jobs, for instance. Consumer spending has dropped and restaurants and retailers are cutting back staff.

Many of the people still working in those industries are living from paycheck to paycheck. A bad run of luck --- a prolonged illness, for instance, that runs up big hospital bills --- can force them to seek help.

In August, the food bank had 1,300 new applications for food assistance in Allegheny County. During the last week of September*, 635 families showed up for assistance at a distribution center on Pittsburgh's South Side that typically serves about 500.

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It's about to get worse. When winter arrives, pensioners and people working low-wage jobs have to decide whether to buy food or pay their heating bills.

"People in lower income brackets don't have a lot of flexibility," Valanti says.

Many churches, employers and civic groups will be running food drives during the holidays, but frankly, the food bank could make better use of checks and money orders. About 25 to 30 percent of its food is purchased in bulk.

"The good news is we can purchase what we need --- more nutritious foods --- and we can use our wholesale buying power," Valanti says. "But some people feel it's mercenary (to give cash) or they don't know where the money is going. They know I can't run off to Jamaica on a can of beans."

On the other hand, monetary donations, unlike beans, are tax-deductible.

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Despite the bare shelves, Valanti and other food bank employees are urging any Mon Valley residents who need assistance to call (412) 460-3663 and ask for guidance signing up for food stamps or finding a food pantry in their neighborhood.

"Our message is that we need help --- and our second message is that if you need help, call us," she says.

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For more information or to donate, visit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank's website or write to Fundraising, 1 N. Linden St., Duquesne 15110. Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is also eligible for United Way funds; make sure to designate Code 361.

* Correction, Not Perfection: This story originally said "Last Saturday" instead of "the last week of September."