Interfaith Community Services Food Bank volunteers Don Schmidt, left, Ellen Bowlby and Anne Schmidt prepare boxes of food to distribute to families in need. Demand has increased 50 percent in the last year.

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As Anne and Don Schmidt celebrate Independence Day, they wish that every Tucsonan could celebrate Freedom From Hunger. To that end, the Interfaith Community Services volunteers hope local support of the Freedom Concert July 12 at CDO Baptist Church will help make that dream a reality.

"In the three years we have been volunteering, the number of people coming in for food boxes has doubled. People who have never had to get food are coming in for a little help, and lots of them start crying because they don't have enough money to pay their bills. . . . I see them at their worst," said Anne, 69, who mans the computer while her husband, Don, 77, packs boxes at the ICS Food Bank.

The newlyweds began volunteering as a team for four hours weekly and have enjoyed the direct impact of their efforts at the official pantry of the Community Food Bank.

"When you are volunteering, if you see someone who appreciates it, it's more fun than sitting at a desk doing telephone work or something where you don't see the results. At the (ICS) Food Bank, you get to see results and see people satisfied when they are picking up their food," Don said.

The Schmidts are worried, though, that donations may not keep pace with demand, which has increased 50 percent in the last year to 27,633 clients. Last month the pantry served 71 percent more families than in June 2008, according to Monnie Applegate, development director for Interfaith Community Services.

"With the downturn in the economy, many more families are coming who we have never seen before. Oftentimes after a job loss, two or three months pass and families are able to do OK, but then things start to crumble. Their support system isn't able to help any longer, so they turn to us to help them get back on their feet," Applegate said.

"We have many stories we could tell of individuals that needed just a little assistance and are active again in the work force and productive members of the community."

Anne would like to see that assistance boosted through donations of food and funds during the Freedom From Hunger Drive, particularly since clients were limited beginning in January to one food box per family monthly due to increased demand. ICS supplements the monthly food box with items donated by the community, and all Freedom From Hunger Drive contributions will be funneled directly to families in need.

"One box doesn't put a dent in it for large families. If you have teenagers, that food isn't going to last but a day or two, but anything helps when you don't have anything. . . . I just wish there was a program to help these families and the elderly get more dairy, meat and other protein and more nutritious items. The only protein they get is beans and peanut butter," Anne said.

ICS also provides emergency financial assistance to families in distress; Applegate said requests for those funds have risen 25 percent in the past year.

She emphasized that ICS is a short-term safety net for these families and a more long-term resource for the elderly clientele it serves through mobile meals, health advocacy home visits, caregiving, transportation, minor home repair and other programs.

Overall, more than 600 volunteers contribute time and energy to ICS programs, which are made possible countywide by a network of 48 member faith communities as well as corporate partners, local businesses and individuals.

The Schmidts say faith in action through volunteerism has made an impact on their well-being as individuals and as a couple.

"I think that Tucson is a place where volunteering is valued quite a bit," Don said. "Unlike some larger cities, you can see the fruits of your labor are more appreciated."