NORWICH – Roots and Wings of Chenango County is adjusting to a harsh increase in demand at its food pantry, mirroring a trend of food insecurity that’s being seen nationwide.

According to Roots and Wings, the number of homes served by its food pantry has increased approximately 36 percent since 2010. The organization, acting under direction of Catholic Charities to provide clothing, food and household goods for individuals and families in need, saw a record 626 households served by its food pantry during the month of January this year.

Already, Roots and Wings has offered meals for more than 4,445 households in 2014, coming dangerously close to exceeding its supply. Coordinators recently made a tough decision to downsize its five-day-per-week packaged meal offerings to three-day packages in order to meet the growing demand.

“The cost of food has gone up and our program really can't keep up with it,” said Melinda Mandeville, Director of Roots and Wings. “Things really aren’t slowing down.”

Chenango County isn’t alone in the devastating trend of food insecurity. The United States Department of Agriculture this month released a report of food insecurity in the U.S. which notes a sharp increase of about 4 percent in food insecurity between 2007 and 2009. Since then, the percentage of U.S. households that are food insecure has nearly leveled off, coming in at 14.9 percent in 2011; 14.5 percent in 2012; and 14.3 percent in 2013.