With food pantries seeing more demand, the Hawaii Foodbank has issued an urgent call for donations to help needy families put food on their tables through the holiday season.

The nonprofit kicked off its "Fill a Bowl, Feed Hawai'i's Hungry" campaign yesterday, designed to collect $50,000 to fill 125,000 "bowls."

Already, the campaign has garnered $20,250 from corporate donors.

The effort is a first for the food bank, which holds its largest donation drive in April. Linda Chu Takayama, Hawaii Foodbank chairwoman, said the drive is needed to meet increased need because of the economic downturn.

"Our shelves are empty, and it's pretty scary for us," she said yesterday, adding the agency only has about two weeks worth of nonperishable food on hand. Usually, the food bank has enough to meet needs for six weeks.

Statewide, free food pantries are getting slammed with more people needing help because of the slumping economy and a string of recent layoffs.

The food bank distributes food to more than 250 agencies, including churches and nonprofits. In turn, those free pantries hand out food to more than 131,862 people annually, including 33,000 children and 14,000 seniors.

At the Hawaii Foodbank yesterday, several agencies were collecting cartloads of food to stock their shelves. Pastor Rick Teixeira of Holy Hill of Zion Church in Wai'anae runs a food pantry that's open once a month or by appointment in emergencies. He said he has seen a dramatic upturn in need.

Last year, he said, he was helping about 300 families a month.

Nowadays, he's handing out bags of food to about 500 families a month.

"Some people got laid off," he said. "Some people lost hours."

The Hawaii Foodbank also announced two $10,000 donations to the effort from Hilton Grand Vacations and Bank of Hawaii.

Bryan Klum, Hilton Grand Vacations executive vice president for Hawai'i and Asia, said the company decided to donate the $10,000 to the food bank instead of having expensive holiday parties.

This year, the company will hold potlucks and other get-togethers.

"Particularly now ... it's more important to show support," he said.

And Chu Takayama said the food bank isn't just looking for large donations. Small ones are welcome, too.

"This program is not just for mega-dollar donations," she said, pointing to the third donation made yesterday — a $250 check from the Hawai'i Hotel and Visitor Industry Security Association, a small organization of security managers.