A second-grader from Oyama Elementary School uses his head to haul off a bagful of items from the Tucson Unified School District clothing bank. With classes well under way, some students still need new clothes, and the district is asking for donations.

David Sanders / Arizona Daily Star

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Thursday morning found the manager of the Tucson Unified School District's clothing bank scrambling to prepare for a busload of needy children from a Southwest Side school.

By the time the students left, holding bags with gently used and new clothes, almost all of the jeans were gone, and there weren't many shorts left. At some point, Chris Molina ended up raiding the area that houses school uniforms, handing out khaki pants and trying to reassure wary students that it wouldn't look like they were wearing uniforms.

"Families are just in dire need," Molina said. So far, students have not been turned away from the center, at 606 S. Plumer Ave.

"I've been able to dig here and there and come up with something, but donations are really down," Molina said.

The clothing bank — which allows children who are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches to pick out up to two pairs of pants, three shirts and three pairs of underwear or socks — took a one-two-three punch this year.

Major sponsors in local lending businesses were forced to scale back long-standing donations, Molina said. Meanwhile, families are worse off. Usually the clothing bank serves about 170 students before school starts. This year, 350 students showed up looking for assistance before the first day.

On top of that, after district talk last year of doing away with the clothing bank to try to deal with an impending budget deficit, some would-be donors didn't even know the facility was still open.

"I've had people calling saying, 'Oh, I thought you were closed,' " said Molina, noting that the clothing bank has been around since 1957. "We're the second-largest school district in the state. It would be ridiculous not to have a clothing bank."

Betty Williams, a district community representative from Alice Vail Middle School, said she has met students in her 18-year career who wouldn't come to school because they didn't have shoes or who came to school wearing relatives' shoes or clothes. Teachers refer students to her if they routinely wear the same clothes or if the fabric is threadbare.

Williams said she has relied every year on the clothing bank, taking two girls recently, with plans to bring two boys soon.

"It's been scary, because it's been threatened with being closed down or it doesn't get the support it should, but with the way people are struggling with the price of gas and foreclosures and bankruptcies, it's needed today more than ever," she said.

Still, Williams said people can be reluctant to use the services.

"They're embarrassed and ashamed that they've gotten into the predicaments that they've had," she said. "But it's there to help parents and families in times like these."