ATLANTA — Costs at the grocery store are up, and prices are high everywhere else, too - from gas, to rent, to utility bills and more.
People who might have already been on the brink are now truly feeling the crunch. Stepping in to fill those gaps, and helping neighbors in need, has never been a more urgent calling.
That's where 11Alive's 40th annual Can-A-Thon, in partnership with the Salvation Army, comes in.
Our goal this year is to bring in 300,000 cans - a 100,000 bump over last year's goal, which we were able to exceed. If you can help us do it, the many families this year who find themselves seeking out food assistance for the first time will be able to feel a little bit more secure this holiday season.
Salvation Army Major Thomas McWilliams spoke to 11Alive early Friday morning about meeting this need.
"People that didn't have needs maybe three years ago, we're seeing at our doorsteps," he said. "People are having to make choices - do I fill up my car? Or do I buy groceries? Do I get medicine? My rent's gone up, my electric bill's gone up, what do I do?"
McWilliams said all the donations received through Can-A-Thon "will go into the hands of people that are in need, as a gap, to keep the hope alive and take them through the Christmas season and into next year."
He added one of the most rewarding things about Can-A-Thon is when people who were once on the receiving end of donations show back up to give back themselves.
"Some of our most staunch donors that carry us through year after year are people that earlier in life, they received," he said. "We celebrate every one of those gifts and every can of food."
Photos: 11Alive 40th annual Can-A-Thon
