Food banks reported no shortage in volunteers, but said donations were way down for their annual spring drive. (File photo/Canadian Press)

Food banks in the Greater Toronto Area are so far behind on donations they have extended their annual spring drives.

Campaigns were supposed to continue until Friday, but food banks in Toronto and Mississauga decided to carry on for another week after volunteers spent the Easter weekend sorting a smaller-than-expected haul.

The spring drive for food banks in the region is an important one because the donations have to last all summer.

The Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto was hoping to collect 113,000 kilograms of food, but came up short, taking in less than half that amount.

Increase in number of visits 'dramatic'

"The need is very very high in the city, and we will to fill ourselves now so we'll have food in the summer," said Daily Bread executive director Gail Nyberg. "We've watched the need increase 17 per cent over the last year, which is 41,000 extra visits, so it's pretty dramatic."

The North York Harvest Food Bank is also only halfway to reaching its goal of collecting 32,000 kilograms of food.

At the Mississauga Food bank, the shelves are just as bare. Its director, Chris Hatch, said the facility is only a third of the way to reaching its goal of 27,000 kilograms of food.

He said the needs are "right across the board," including peanut butter, pasta, soups and protein beans.

Hatch believes the recession, coupled with donor fatigue, explain why donations have dropped.

"There are other disasters around the world where people's attention and money have been diverted, some of the earthquakes, for example. And I just think people are away and they just sort of forgot about us this year," he said.

Donations can be made online, dropped off at some grocery stores and most fire halls or at the food banks themselves.

As of April 12, the North York Harvest will be setting up donation boxes in the lobbies of 150 apartment buildings.