``I do it because the need has increased and increased,’’ said St. John. ``I could see the families needed some sort of help while in such distress.’’

The 81-year-old said the food bank was started in 1977 by a group of women from local churches. She said she is the only woman left from the group because the others are either retired or too old to work.

One day, a social worker told about a family who was always sick and struggling to get by, said St. John. She said the ladies gathered food from their own kitchen shelves to help this particular family and that is what started the concern to establish a food bank.

Over the years, the ladies saw more and more families struggling to keep food on their plates, said St. John. She said during the first year of helping others, there were only 12 to 15 families, but more needed help as the years went on so the ladies needed a place, other than their own shelves, to keep the food.

According to St. John, the Cooperstown Food Bank was established in the village library. However, St. John said it was not the ideal place because it was small and people could see the recipients coming in and out. The food bank eventually moved to the basement of the Presbyterian Church, where it still resides.

``This (the church) is a much better location,’’ St. John said.

The food bank serves all of Otsego County and 15 percent come from the immediate Cooperstown area. St. John said the increase in families needing help has grown tremendously, especially in the past few months. She said the food bank was assisting 80 to 85 families last year and in the last few months, the food bank has been providing food to over 100 families.

``Last month alone, we helped 135 families,’’ said St. John.

St. John credits the state of the economy for the increase of people who need aid.

``Because so many have low paying jobs, they can’t pay bills and pay for food too,’’ St. John said.

Because of the increase in work that goes along with providing assistance to more people, St. John felt it was time to get some help herself.

About a year ago, Audrey Murray became St. John’s co-director at the food bank. Murray, who began as a volunteer, said she heard about the need for volunteers through her church, Christ Episcopal Church.

``I just felt I couldn’t handle it alone anymore,’’ said St. John about adding a co-director. ``The job takes hours and hours of work.’’

Murray said St. John is a joy to work with.

``It is so wonderful to work with someone with so much experience with what she does,’’ Murray said. ``It is just invaluable.’’

According to Murray, the hours that she and St. John put in at the food bank vary, but she said one or the other of them is there every day. Some of the daily duties that the co-directors perform are keeping inventory, helping stock shelves, ordering food from the regional food bank in Latham, getting volunteers to help stock shelves and unload trucks and getting three truckers to bring food from Oneonta to Cooperstown.

Murray said the Cooperstown Food Bank is part of America’s Second Harvest, a nationwide network of member food banks. She said she is always surprised by the volume of food that the food bank has to have in stock. According to Murray, 5,000 pounds of food, exceeding what people donate, must be ordered in order to meet needs.

The Cooperstown Food Bank does have times when food is needed more than others. For instance, Murray said she assumed the need for food would go down in the summer; however, that is not the case. She said a lot of families rely on subsidized lunches for their kids during the school year and in the summer season they do not receive that assistance. Murray said the heating season is also a demanding time for the food bank because clients get stressed about paying bills. Other stressful times, according to Murray, are when taxes are due and during the holidays.

Murray said the food bank does not generally hold any kind of special event for the holidays, but she said a lot of people have been donating pumpkins and cranberry sauce, so she hopes to have that on hand.

St. John said she and Murray are also collaborating with Mark Loewenguth, owner of the Hoffman Lane Bistro, in making sure families get a good meal for Thanksgiving. Loewenguth has been preparing Thanksgiving dinners to those who cannot afford to prepare one for themselves for about 10 year, said St. John.

Loewenguth supplies meals to local churches in the area so people do not have to travel far to eat and Murray and St. John refer people to the services, according to St. John. She said Loewunguth cooked about 150 dinners last year.

Although most of the food the food bank receives is from the regional food bank, Murray said Cooperstown and the general area are very generous and that is gratifying to see. St. John said the post office drives and school drives are exceptional help to the food bank. She also said the food bank gets much support from the local churches, the Chamber of Commerce, the Women’s Club, the Rotary and many more organizations and individuals.

Donations are not the only way people can help. The food bank is always in need of volunteers. St. John said the food bank needs volunteers to see families, people willing to unload trucks once a month and helpers to work a two-hour shift once a week. She said there are 10 two-hour shifts Monday through Friday. The food bank also has substitutes that fill in when someone cannot make it.

Kay Additon, a retired Cooperstown special education and third grade teacher, has been volunteering at the food bank for about two months. She works a two-hour shift Thursday mornings and said she does it to help the community.

``I like feeling like I’m helping struggling families,’’ she said. ``They (people coming in for food) are all so appreciative, and that’s so rewarding.’’

Additon said she thinks it is incredible being able to work with St. John.

``She is an angel,’’ said Additon. ``She has worked so hard for so many years.’’

St. John said most of the clients that are sent to the food bank are referred by organizations such as social services, Bassett Healthcare and American Red Cross. She said in order to be eligible, members must meet the USDA guidelines that are based on family size.

Donations to the food bank may be sent to 24 Church St., Cooperstown, N.Y. 13326. The Cooperstown Food Bank is located in the basement of the Presbyterian Church and is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.