The cupboards are bare

Claudia Diaz remembers when the grocery bags handed out at the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry were heavier. Jerry Berrios in the Daily News.

The single mother from Newhall would pick up cakes, desserts and frozen soup donated to the pantry from the Olive Garden, in addition to the standard staples of milk, bread and canned vegetables.

"When I started coming here, they gave me more food," said Diaz, who has received food donations for the last 10 months. "I noticed in the last couple of months, it has been less."

With food prices soaring, food pantries across Southern California and the nation find themselves facing record demand for their services.