BANDON — As the recession weighs down on Coos County families and businesses, Bandon’s newest food pantry has seen a growing number of hungry people and families at its door.

The Restoration Worship Center food pantry, 89 North Ave. N.E., opened in March. Volunteers distribute food every second Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m., averaging 2,500 to 3,000 pounds per session.

The food pantry is registered with the Oregon Food Bank and administered locally by Oregon Coast Community Action.

Those in need of goods are requested to register, but Director Kermit Gaston said nobody is refused.

“If they’re here, they’re hungry. We feed them,” he explained. “We don’t discriminate.”

The pantry aims to supply food boxes with three to five days’ worth of food for up to six people. Distribution includes cooking charcoal, bottled water, blankets, coats and clothing. Gaston said the pantry also maintains emergency supplies for those who need assistance between scheduled distribution dates.

To date, most donations of money and labor have come from the congregation. As the holidays approach, Gaston says the pantry has two needs the community can help fulfill: It needs new upright refrigerators and freezers and donations to reach its goal of providing 75 Thanksgiving holiday food boxes to local families. For information, contact Gaston at 347-4900.

Other Bandon food banks also have seen a rise in the number of people requesting assistance. Those include Coastal Harvest Gleaners, which meets every Wednesday at the former Seventh-day Adventist Church on Elmira; contact Lyn Silverman, 347-1585.

Good Neighbors holds a food distribution on the first Tuesday of every month behind Bandon’s community center on S.W. 11th by City Park in the Lions shed, as well as having a limited amount of emergency bags of groceries available in between distributions; contact John Hubbard, 347-3573.

The Everyone At Table program also offers a free balanced, hot meal to people on limited incomes every Tuesday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the center; contact Allison Hundley, 347-3500.