The Salvation Army and students at James Madison University are responding to an increase in the demand for food in the Valley.

With the holidays right around the corner, and Capt. Dwayne Burleigh from the Salvation Army says they're having a difficult time keeping their food pantry stocked.

He says, "They know we were in desperate need in our food pantry, so they volunteered to do a food drive for us to help fill the food pantry for those that are in need."

Students from the service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega, at JMU decided to do something about it.

Member Caitlin Anzalone says, "We had kind of talked about it, how the food pantry was really low, so we just decided they needed it and we would go ahead and give it to them and help them out."

Anzalone says now is a crucial time to step up and lend a hand.

She adds, "This time of year is really important with family and things like that, so we are really just trying to open up to the community and expect some good stuff from them."

Burleigh says the economy is making it more difficult to keep their shelves full as they've seen a big increase in demand.

He says, "There are so many factories right now that are hurting, that are shutting down, putting people out of work that this time of year they need to turn to some place and we are just fortunate that they can turn to us."

Burleigh says help from the students has meant a lot.

He adds, "It's something you have to do year round. These young people are so great. I am so proud of them as part of our community because they recognize that need and they step forward."

Anzalone adds, "We really wanted to give back to the community and I know the economy isn't in a great place right now, so we wanted to take this opportunity to give back."

The group collected non-perishables and canned goods at the Harrisonburg Kroger on East Market Street Sunday. Alpha Phi Omega has been collecting food for the past couple of weeks.