Chris Jones and Mary Ann Edwards have been volunteering at the Llano Food Pantry in central Texas for several years. It's a tight-knit group, where food recipients gather early to chat outside, and community members contribute their own produce.

"The ladies all come in and go, 'guess what I did with those plums I got last time?' We share recipes, we talk and it's like a big family," Edwards said.

Four years ago, the pantry was receiving 15-20 people each week. Now, they say, the number is about a hundred clients every week.

"Right now — and we've been doing this for a while — we limit canned goods," said Jones. "We didn't have to do that in the beginning because we didn't have that many people coming through."

They said the past year has been tough for families, with rising food costs.

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