SPOKANE, Wash. — Food banks across the Inland Northwest are struggling to keep up with demand as more families turn to them for help during the government shutdown.

The Salvation Army's food pantry usually serves 170 people each day. It says this past week, that number jumped to 270.

"It has a lot of families in a scary place," said Captain David Cane of the Salvation Army.

The organization launched an emergency food drive to restock their shelves.

"This is a time where we've got to step up and drastic times demand drastic measures," Cane said.

Many people are waiting for their SNAP benefits to come back, but no one knows when that will happen. Food banks say this level of demand is hard to maintain.

"Food shelves were never intended to replace grocery stores. That is what we are see

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