Will there be anything left for the needy this holiday?

ALBANY — Some 10,000 turkeys for the needy will pass through this warehouse this month and next. Aisles rising three stories high are already stacked with mashed potato mix and canned carrots. Forklifts zip by stacked with turkey gravy. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York sees a big bump in orders from soup kitchens and food pantries. Cash donations flow in too. But this year there is concern that people who donated millions for hurricane victims might feel tapped out. With demand for food staying steady, people who feed the hungry are keeping their fingers crossed that holiday giving keeps pace. “It’s almost inevitable it will have some impact,” said food bank executive director Mark Quandt. “It’s our hope by the end of the year people will be looking at local needs again.” Food banks are the middleman for food charities. This hangar-sized warehouse on the outskirts of Albany takes in tons of food from the likes of supermarkets, wholesalers and farms. More than a thousand shelters, soup kitchens and other agencies that feed the hungry in eastern New York pick up orders by the pallet. Though there is fear that donations might lag hard on the heels of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, agencies that feed the hungry said it’s too early too tell. Ross Fraser, a spokesman for America’s Second Harvest, said they were surveying member food banks, but “we don’t know yet if there’s donor fatigue.” Clearly the demand is still there.