When times were good, the Salvation Army's Toy Angels program would pack gift bags for 6,000 children.
This year, volunteers will be lucky to accommodate just 2,500 kids.
Jayne Forster, who runs the program in the Calgary warehouse, says that's because she's seen fewer gifts donated over the years and now there is no surplus of toys to make up for the shortfall.
But Forster knows she's not the only one seeing fewer donations.
"Every charity, every non-profit, every group right now is struggling," she said.
"It's not just us and we always say one good-quality toy, that's all we need from a person. We don't expect people to go and break the bank for us.
"Everybody's struggling right now in this economy."
The organization takes referrals from agencies and requests from low-income families who need toys at Christmas.
Volunteers fill bags from lists but this year, presents for infants and teens are in short supply.
Forster says the Salvation Army has a goal of raising $20,000 this season.
So far, it's reached just $510.
"If people want to give us money or if they purchase toys and have the receipt, we can give them a tax receipt for that, absolutely," Forster said.
On Sunday afternoons and Tuesday nights, volunteers with the Mckenzie Lake church gather in its kitchen to prepare lunches for kids from four local schools.
They're making them for Brown Bagging for Calgary's Kids (BB4CK).
Liza Stratton, the local co-ordinator, says they make more than 80 lunches at a time.
She has enough volunteers to make the lunches but is struggling to find drivers to deliver them.
"And I get it. Gas is expensive these days, and time as well," she said.
"We do have some dedicated people that come out once a month. It's just awesome. They're so good."
Bethany Ross, executive director for BB4CK, knows money is tight in Calgary households.
The organization started a month-long campaign on Dec. 1 to raise $350,000.
It's to help the lunch program meet the increasing need and a rise in its food costs into 2023.
"Folks are really looking to make a difference with what they can give," said Ross.
"Lots of folks can't give as much as they could and lots of folks can give more but I think what's common with everyone is they want to do something that matters and there's so many ways we can do that in our community and we think that making sure kids have food is one of the really important ways we can do that."
Ross says the organization is feeding more than 6,000 kids every weekday in Calgary schools.
"We know that right now, one in five Calgarians has experienced food insecurity," she said.
"That's five or six kids in every classroom who doesn't consistently have access to the food they need. That's huge, that's a lot of people in our city and a lot of kids.
"So I think the more that we talk about where we get food and what food looks like and why it may be hard to access food and what we're worried about, the more aware we can all become of how that impacts our neighbours."
Forster knows people might be overwhelmed at how much need there is right now for local charities and her advice is to just pick one to support because every little bit helps.
"Everybody has who they support," she said.
"We all know that it's a struggle for families, individuals, with the cost of everything right now to give like they used to. I always just say pick a charity and please donate."
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