For Daily Bread organiser Margaret Ward, it’s enough to make her cry.She’s seen more hunger than she imagined possible in Bermuda since the Eliza DoLittle Society launched its free feeding programme in September 2010.And some of the most desperate, according to charity chief executive Ms Ward, are young families where at least one parent has lost a job because of the recession.Families often turn up at the society’s office in Warwick seeking help, while some even knock on the door of Ms Ward’s home to ask for food.“I cry. It’s overwhelming because I guess we see it right up front,” she told The Royal Gazette. “Somebody comes to my house with a little child with him and they are hungry. I just take what I can find in my cupboard and give it to them.”Launched as a single feeding centre for 15 to 20 people little more than 18 months ago, the number of people taking advantage of the food programme has soared in the past year.Twelve venues now provide weekly sit-down dinners or a takeout service for the hungry, serving 60 to 70 people per session; one alone, St Augustine’s Church in Hamilton, serves 150 on a regular basis.In February, Daily Bread handed out 2,590 meals, including light breakfasts every day at CedarBridge Academy. Various restaurants donated a total $19,500 worth of goods that month, amounting to 3,000lbs of food and 80 gallons of soup.All this is on top of long-running services provided by the Salvation Army and similar church-based support programmes.“We are all seeing the same thing,” said Ms Ward. “There are more and more unemployed people who even come to our offices and ask for help. I go out to my cupboards and give them bread.“What’s changing is that we have got so many young families now: single-parent families, even families where one parent is working and the other has been laid off.”Jennifer Hodgkins, a lay minister who helps run the Anglican Cathedral’s Daily Bread on Monday and Thursday mornings, said a worrying number of families are now in need of food.Many unemployed construction workers, particularly carpenters and masons, as well as some former office workers, are among those attending the Cathedral’s breakfasts, said Ms Hodgkins.“We have got a lot more people coming in now. I think it’s because of the economic crisis. There’s a lot of anxiety around at the moment,” she said.“We are seeing people that usually work but have fallen on hard times and they don’t really know what to do with themselves. They just want to get something that will help with their housekeeping.”Ms Hodgkins said the service also provides a social function, attempting to give back some dignity to those who’ve lost jobs and are struggling to make ends meet.“We try to accept people as they are. I hope it makes them feel better about themselves that we welcome them and are happy to see them,” she said.“Having a base to come to gives them sort of companionship. They can talk to each other without being on the streets. Sometimes people stay here all morning and chat. That’s helpful to people as it allows them to share their stories.“For me, it’s always just wonderful to see the volunteers and the joy they get out of helping people.”Restaurants donating food to Eliza DoLittle include Buzz, the Hickory Stick, Fairmont Hamilton Princess, Swizzle Inn, Beau Rivage at Newstead and the Frog and Onion.Eliza DoLittle then distributes that food to the shelters, where volunteers, who receive health and safety training, hand it out to the needy.The Association of Food Aid Providers was established last year by the Eliza DoLittle Society, the Salvation Army and the Coalition for the Protection of Children, among others, to help coordinate the feeding efforts of the charitable sector.However, Sheelagh Cooper of the Coalition for the Protection of Children warned: “It must be recognised that although the charitable sector contributes enormously to serving the basic food needs for the very poor, the demand has reached a critical point and it is doubtful whether this sector can continue to meet the increasing demand much longer without more government help.“The association meets regularly to ensure that gaps of food distribution are filled, that donated food gets distributed on a timely and efficient basis and that mechanisms to reduce cost are explored.“This level of collaboration has reduced waste, lowered costs and has helped to eliminate gaps but our projections tell us that if the need continues to grow at the same rate none of us will be able to keep pace.“The Coalition feeds breakfast every morning in five schools and the level of participation in the programme has not surprisingly increased to the extent that we will have served more than 40,000 breakfasts by the end of the school year.”The Daily Bread programme provides free meals at the Anglican Cathedral, St Monica’s Church, Warwick Holiness Church, the First Church of God, Evening Light Pentecostal, St Augustine’s Church, Somerset Seventh-day Adventist Church, Bright Temple AME Church, Beulah Tabernacle, Christ Church in Warwick and the Church Without Walls in the Bull’s Head car park.Other programmes not affiliated with Daily Bread include the Salvation Army in North Street, Hamilton Seventh-day Adventist in King Street, St Mary’s Anglican Church and St Theresa’s Roman Catholic Cathedral Hall.Donations should be made out to the Eliza DoLittle Society, PO Box HM 2216, Hamilton, HM JX; call 333-4483 for information about volunteering.Useful websites: www.elizadolittle.bm, www.volunteer.bm.