Here’s a New Year’s resolution that can be summed up in two words: Fight hunger.

The economic crisis is crushing the ability of many parents to feed their children. Donations to anti-hunger programs surged during the holiday season, but the demand continues to outstrip the supply. Many of the needy families have never had to rely on charity before in their lives.

“Food has been going out just about as fast as it is coming in,” Rhonda Chafin, director of a food bank in northeastern Tennessee, told the Bristol Herald Courier. “This year is different. It’s not just those who live in poverty. This year, it’s our neighbor.”

She’s right. This fall, 31.5 million Americans qualified for federal assistance through the food-stamp program (now renamed SNAP). That’s the largest number in history, breaking the record set in November 2005 after three devastating hurricanes.

A national survey of 160 food banks by Feeding America reported a 30 percent increase in demand over the last year. Three of four banks said they had to reduce each family’s allotment so no one would be turned away.

And the demand for food is only going to increase. Claims for jobless benefits hit 586,000 during the week ending just before Christmas – the highest weekly total in 26 years. Consumer spending and family income both plummeted in November.