Skyrocketing demand for food-assistance services, coupled with budget and staffing cuts for the Department of Human Services, is putting unprecedented stress on Chicago food pantries.

In April alone, the basic-needs center Casa Catalina provided food for nearly 2,000 families in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, serving more than 7,700.

Center director Sister Joellen Tumas estimated Casa Catalina has helped more than 25,000 people this year, “maybe a hundred more families a week than we were seeing this time last year.”

With more needy families and individuals around the state, anti-hunger advocacy organizations are pressuring legislators to revise funding and staffing strategies for DHS to cope with rising demand for social services like food stamps and Medicaid.

Critics of Gov. Quinn’s proposed 2010 budget, which includes cuts to DHS funding, say while the demand for DHS services has increased steadily, the number of caseworkers processing applications has dropped by half since 2001.

“It’s been an inverse relationship,” said Diane Doherty of the Illinois Hunger Coalition. “The number of caseworkers is considerably less than it was six years ago. Their offices are jammed.”

The situation has only worsened with the recession, said Anders Lindall of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31. Rising unemployment has triggered spikes in demand for social services like food stamps, which has increased pressure on an already understaffed DHS, he said.

“It is an everyday occurrence that there are lines out of the building and down the street,” he added.

The state also plans to close 17 DHS branch offices downstate. DHS spokeswoman Marielle Sainvilus said the closures won’t directly affect operations in Chicago and though DHS is facing budget cuts, Sainvilus said the food stamps program is secure.

However, with fewer DHS staff members processing the backlog of food stamps applications, food pantries like Casa Catalina are feeling the pinch.

“It’s just like praying we have enough food,” Tumas said. “Some days we have people coming in, who, for whatever reason, don’t have food in the house.”

Despite Casa Catalina’s success in handling the influx of patrons, Doherty said some of the stress food pantries are experiencing could be mitigated by better-organized food stamp programs.

“We need a budget that includes adequate staff,” Doherty said. “Food stamps should be a staple. Food pantries should be seen as a supplement if food stamps run out or if something happens to their food stamp status.”

As for Sister Joellen and her volunteer staff, Casa Catalina will continue to be an epicenter of community outreach and a safety net for the Back of the Yards community.

“You see the women looking at the clothes today, those that need diapers, if they run out of WIC formula,” Tumas says. “Sometimes it’s people who come in and just need a little help.”