BLOOMINGTON - Sara Molck stopped by the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry on Monday to get some groceries to tide over her family of three young children.

"Without you guys, I wouldn't have anything right now," she told the staff of volunteers on Tuesday.

Molck wasn't alone. Lee Doyle, manager of the pantry, said 146 families were served Monday, which is the weekly distribution day. That took June's total to 811 - a 25 percent jump over the June 2007 numbers.

The pantry has been able to keep up with the demand so far, thanks to help from the Midwest Food Bank, the Peoria Area Food Bank, donations and church members, but it could get tough with more people seeking help.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Doyle, Molck and others at a news conference Tuesday at the food pantry that financial help for the program is on the way.

The farm bill, which became law in mid-June, includes Durbin's Hunger Free Communities Act - a measure that could bring $53 million to Illinois' Emergency Food Assistance Program over the next 10 years. Part of that money would go to area food banks and pantries.

"The economy is in tough shape," Durbin said. "There's a lot of unemployment … the cost of gasoline. … Working families are struggling to make ends meet. Many are surviving with the help of food pantries."

Durbin said the plan is not only to bring in more food for food banks, but also to provide more nutritious food, including fresh fruits and vegetables. Food banks also will be encouraged to purchase food from local farmers' markets.

"This is a lifeline," Durbin said of food pantries. "We want to make sure nobody goes hungry."

While the proposal included a total of $10 billion for programs throughout the United States, Durbin said an appropriation to spend the money still has to be approved and the amount could change.

That process is expected to take several months. The earliest food banks could see the money would be fall, he said.

Barb Shreves, director of the Peoria Area Food Bank, said efforts will continue in the meantime.

"We will do what we can," she said. "We'll continue looking for new funding and donors."

Doyle said if the demand gets too high, the amount of food each person gets may have to be decreased. On Monday, a family of four received 34 items, including a frozen chicken, vegetables, soup, bread, cereal and canned goods.

Durbin said the Hunger Free Communities Act also is designed to help other food assistance programs. The proposal includes a very small increase in the amount of food stamps recipients receive and provides additional money for school lunch programs and the Women, Infants & Children program.

Durbin admitted what amounts to about $5 million a year for Illinois isn't much.

"If the economy doesn't improve soon, we'll have to put more in," he said.