CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The Greater Cleveland Food Bank announced 18,000 turkeys were distributed to families in need for the Thanksgiving season, as the Food Bank sees the need continue to grow across Northeast Ohio.

The Food Bank and 1,000+ partners helped distribute the meals with October and November being the busiest months for distribution. They estimate millions of pounds of food were donated. The Food Bank also says that trucks are making 200 stops per day to deliver and pick up food.

This distribution follows the announcement that 424,000 people were served by the Food Bank last year alone, with 25% using the Food Bank for the first time. That is a trend the Food Bank says is only continuing.

According to Feeding America , the main reasons for the increase nationwide in a need for Food Bank’s is: “rising food costs (81%), having a low income or no income (66%), and the high cost of rent or buying a home (63%) ranked as the top issues they say are the main drivers of food insecurity in the U.S”.

In addition, a recent Axios report shows that The Greater Cleveland Food Bank has surpassed the 20% nationwide average of people needing a food bank for the first time.