A $100-million federal stimulus grant is helping U.S. food pantries restock as the recession swells demand for their services, says The New York Times.

The stimulus windfall, supplementing the $250-million the food-bank program usually gets annually from Washington, provided millions of pounds of poultry, pork, cheese, canned fruit, and peanut products, according to the Department of Agriculture.

A recent survey by the nonprofit network Feeding America found demand for emergency food assistance up 30 percent nationwide over last year.

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