Prince George, B.C.- As the unemployment rate climbs, so does the pressure on the Salvation Army. Pastor Bruce Kirk in Prince George  says 4,000 people were served by the Salvation Army in May,  “That’s a spike of 500 more than were served in April in Prince George.”

Kirk says right across the country, the Salvation Army is seeing 10 -30% increase in services delivered, “But Prince George is in particularly dire straits.”

Kirk says in September of 2008   they had served 2100 people, by April of this year that had jumped to 3490 then pushed up to 4,000 in May.

He says the food bank food hamper and meals services are in need and the best way to help would be to offer cash “If people donate $10, that will buy one case lot, but we have some buying power because we can buy in bulk, so with that same $10 dollars, we can buy 1 and a half case lots.”

Anyone wanting to make a cash donation can do so by calling the Salvation Army Office at 564-4000 extension 222, or by visiting the Salvation Army office at 777 Ospika.