Though the numbers are sobering, they only tell a fraction of the story, according to Shared Harvest Executive Director Tina Osso.

Shared Harvest distributed 3.3 million pounds of food in 2011; it had distributed 3.6 million pounds of food as of Oct. 31 of this year. That amount is expected to increase to 5 million pounds by the end of the year.

“The key is to stay grounded in the thought that these are possibly our neighbors and families and co-workers,” Osso said. “They’re the people who sit next to us in the church pews, who serve us our meals at restaurants.”

“The face of hunger really has changed in recent years,” she said. “It’s not just the people who lived at the economic edge all of their lives. It’s people who have faced a sudden job loss, a reduction in hours or a traumatic illness, or some combination. These are now the people standing in line at our food pantries.”

The Community Food Relief Campaign, an annual joint effort among the Hamilton JournalNews, the Middletown Journal and the Shared Harvest Food Bank, targets specifically those friends and neighbors. All of the money raised during the seven-week campaign, which begins today, stays in Butler and Warrn counties.

“As the economy continues to stretch resources of those in need, our ability to address hunger issues during the holiday season and through the coming winter months has become our greatest challenge,” said Julia Wallace, publisher of The Middletown Journal and Hamilton JournalNews. “We all understand the circumstances people face today, and hope you understand that at some point the face of hunger could be any of us or someone we know.”

Last year, the Community Food Relief campaign provided $20,700 to assist Shared Harvest Foodbank in the purchase of nutritious wholesale food supplies. Because the food is donated, every $1 received provides eight meals for hungry families, Osso said.

“So no gift is too small,” she said. “Or too large.”

For the first time this year, donations can be made via text message by sending the message “eats” to 80888 to contribute $10 to the campaign.

“You will get a confirmation text message back, and the $10 donation will be added onto your phone bill,” Osso said.

Contributions of any amount can be made online at www.sharedharvest.org. Osso said to be sure to put “CFR” or “Community Food Relief” in the message box so that it will be credited to the campaign.

And donations can still be made the old-fashioned way, too, by putting a check in one of the six envelopes that will be provided to newspaper subscribers during the course of the campaign.