Longtime South Jersey food pantry temporarily shuts down. It ran out of food.

The Angels Community Outreach, a Pitman-based nonprofit that has helped tens of thousands of South Jersey residents with food, clothing, and other assistance over the last 13 years, shut down its food pantry this week.

It ran out of food on Tuesday.

“PLEASE HELP- SADLY this is the FIRST TIME I have EVER had to do this,” director Elissa Darrow posted on the group’s Facebook page. “Unfortunately we have to CLOSE our FOOD PANTRY until we can fill our shelves.”

The group has put out an appeal for donations of food, other provisions, and cash to help replenish its pantry. People have been stepping up, and Darrow said she and her volunteers hope they may be back in operation as soon as next Tuesday.

The pantry’s difficulties, however, are part of a larger picture of tough times: higher food costs, inflation, and struggling households.

“With the way prices are rising, we’re just not getting as many donations because the people who used to be able to donate to us can’t because the little extra money they had to donate now they’re spending on their own food,” Darrow said.

“We’ve also seen an increase of people asking for help,” she added. “And it’s just not the person who’s not working.”

Even families with two wage-earners are finding it harder to cover their rent, car payment, and keep everyone fed, she said.

Senior citizens have often needed help subsisting on fixed incomes. “Now they’ve got to try to stretch that even further because of the higher cost of food,” the director said.

Families all over the region are hurting from higher food prices and steeper costs of living, and the agencies that serve them are feeling the greater needs, according to Kori Rife, spokesperson for the Food of South Jersey, which partners with about 200 food pantries, not including the Angels.

“We’re absolutely distributing food at pandemic levels at this point,” Rife said.

In addition, the food bank’s food purchasing costs are up 20%, and its freight and transportation costs have doubled, she said.

“Summer is one of the hungriest times of the year because kids are out of school, and they’re not getting their free or reduced-price school meals,” Rife said, noting the food bank is helping to provide more than 200,000 meals for South Jersey this summer.

For a group like the Angels, turning people away is one of the worst things imaginable.

The Pitman nonprofit was started in 2009 by Darrow’s then-12-year-old daughter, Katelyn, as the Angels of God Clothing Closet. The youngster was motivated by her family’s own struggles.

When Katelyn was very young, her mother, she, and her sisters were forced to flee a domestic-violence situation in the middle of the night with the clothes on their backs. Some time later, the family lost possessions in a fire but were helped by friends and neighbors. Those experiences inspired her to help others in times of need.

After Katelyn left for college at UCLA, her mother continued their work. Katelyn now works in social media in California and volunteers in suicide prevention and at a domestic-violence shelter. The services at the nonprofit she started have branched out.

Over the course of the year, the Angels provides meals for families at the holidays, prom gowns at prom time, Halloween costumes, baby needs, veterans appreciation, birthday assistance, and more. During this summer’s heat wave, the nonprofit has helped buy families air conditioners. The group is now seeking hairdressers and barbers to donate their services for a back-to-school event later this summer, along with school supplies.

The Angels is also looking for donations to restock and reopen its Kibble Corner, a pantry for pet food. That helping mission has been hindered by the same economic forces that resulted in empty shelves at its food pantry for people

“We have no pet food right now,” Darrow said. “It’s a shame. “People are trying to decide who eats -- your kids, your pets. To me, my pets are like my kids. It just brings a lot of stress onto families.”

Note: South Jersey families seeking a food pantry can visit the Food Bank of South Jersey website at foodbanksj.org and search by zip code.