BEND, OR -- Central Oregon non-profit "The Giving Plate" is making strides in raising funds for its new food distribution center and community grocery store, set to open next year. A recent red-carpet gala brought in over $137 thousand.

But Executive Director Ranae Staley says their hunger-relief programs are busier than ever, “A couple of weeks after the event, we hit an all-time record day for our grocery program helping 157 families, which is close to around 3,000 individuals.”

She tells KBND News the need has grown since a federal emergency food program ended in February, “We have seen a big, big increase and we really started to see that shift after this change in SNAP benefits. We've been consistently serving well over 1,000 families every single month and we only had one month last year.”

Staley is grateful for the public’s support, “So the need right now is so great and we need the help from the community to keep up with it. We are heading into the holidays, the need for food really ramps up this time of year. So, we're not even into our busiest time of year and yet we're setting records.”

Construction continues on a new food distribution center set to open in January and community grocery store opening in April. “We can't wait to open up our new model of bringing guests into a community store where they can have a shopping experience and really remove fully that shame and stigma that surrounds accessing food,” Staley said.