The Hawaii Foodbank holds its annual food drive today while feeling pressure on two fronts — declining donations and rising need.

Recent big layoffs and rising prices for gasoline, food and other necessities have left more people struggling and lend extra urgency to the food bank's push to collect 550,000 pounds of food and $450,000.

More than 2,500 volunteers will man more than a dozen locations statewide today in the single biggest push of the months-long effort.

The food bank needs to overcome a decrease in donations from wholesalers, manufacturers and retailers — its biggest benefactors — as well as from community food drives that contribute about 12 percent of its annual donations.

"We're finding that we are needing to purchase more food because there is less coming in," said Lori Kaya, Hawaii Foodbank spokeswoman.

Hawai'i wholesalers and manufacturers contribute 38 percent of the nearly 8.5 million pounds of food a year that arrive at the food bank's warehouse in Mapunapuna. Local retailers contribute 35 percent, much of it from among their overstocked products.

But lately, rising prices have prompted manufacturers to be more efficient and produce less — and therefore have less surplus food to give away. Retailers also are contributing less.

"In essence, there are less extras to give to the food bank," Kaya said.

The food bank supplies more than 250 agencies, which distribute the food to Hawai'i's homeless and hungry. Those agencies said they are seeing more hungry people at their doors, including some former Aloha Airlines employees.

Ray Pratt, a frequent volunteer at Central Union Church's food pantry, said anywhere from 35 to 50 people show up for hot meals at the church every week, as compared to 20 to 25 people six months ago. The church also hands out bags of canned goods to homeless people in parks.

"There is definitely an increase in the number of bags we're giving away," he said.

Kate Bepko, spokeswoman for the Institute for Human Services, which relies partially on the Hawaii Foodbank for the more than 700 meals it serves every day, said its two shelters are full with 25 homeless families, with 20 more on the waiting list.

That's "a rather high number" for the waiting list, she said.

Rising food costs may have affected community food drives, making the average household "think twice about what to give or how much to give," Kaya said.

"It also takes more donor dollars to purchase the food we need."

Topping the Hawaii Foodbank's wish list are canned meats or tuna, followed by canned meals (like spaghetti, chili or corned beef hash), and canned soups, vegetables and fruits.

KFC Hawai'i has already pledged $25,000 to the food bank.

The money will be raised throughout the year with in-store initiatives, said Steve Johnson, KFC Hawai'i's general manager. Three KFC locations — Kapi'olani, Waikele and Kailua — will also collect canned goods and monetary donations today.

Johnson said he sees a need to help the food bank expand its reach statewide.

"You can go there at a given time and the shelves are full, and you can go there at a given time and the shelves are only 20 percent full," he said.

Food bank staff and volunteers buzzed around the 233,668-square-foot warehouse yesterday, inspecting and sorting canned goods and other donations, while "shoppers" from various agencies filled boxes with products to give to the needy.

Among the shoppers was Becky Westfall of Save the Food Basket, whose organization buys 7,000 pounds of food from the Foodbank every month to serve hot meals twice a week to households affected by HIV/AIDS.

From its University Avenue location, Save the Food Basket each month serves 600 people, many of whom must balance nutrition needs with medical bills that can hit $2,000 a month.

"The significance is hanging on these shelves," Westfall said, pointing to the rows and rows of plastic-wrapped cardboard boxes. "It makes a huge difference in our budget. This is a lifesaver."