Fill those kettles

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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The Red Kettles are in place. The Salvation Army's annual holiday collection campaign is under way in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area. And Eastern Iowans' generosity for neighbors in need will challenged even more this year.

We urge everyone who can help to dig a little deeper in their pockets.

In Cedar Rapids, the campaign goal is $668,000 - up 4.5 percent from last year. In Iowa City, the increase is even sharper: up 10 percent to $250,000.

The reasons are clear and sobering even in our relatively prosperous region. Demand on food pantries has tripled the past year while assistance for utilities and rent has more than doubled at the Cedar Rapids agency. Homelessness, which includes large numbers of adults and children displaced by the flood or loss of job during the recession, also is up substantially. In Linn County, the number of such folks served by homeless programs was up 24 percent for the fiscal year ended June 30 - the biggest increase in many years.

The number of meals provided to the homeless and others in desperate financial straits soared by 43 percent. And 5 percent of all Iowa households had extreme difficulty getting adequate food every day in 2009, according to a new U.S. Department of Agriculture report. That number hasn't likely dropped this year as the recession's effects linger.

Certainly, most of those folks don't want to rely on charity and public assistance. They'd prefer to work and provide for their families' basic needs. An improving economy and job market is the long-term answer.

For now, some of our neighbors could use a boost from the rest of us with their emergency needs. Remember that the holiday campaign funds half of the Salvation's Army's year-round programs, so give whatever you can - and a little more.