The economic downturn has taken another toll.

The Jonnycake Center board decided this week that it will not give out December food baskets.

“It’s the better thing for our clients,” said Marianne Sullivan, board vice president. “It will feed more people for longer.”

In a statement, the board said the decision was based on the continued growth in need, the depressed state of the economy, and the uncertainty about what to expect for donations for the rest of the year.

The center will continue to give out Thanksgiving baskets to all registered households in South Kingstown and Narragansett, as well as vacation breakfast and lunch baskets to families whose children receive free and reduced-price lunches at school. Sign-up for the Thanksgiving basket program will begin the week of Oct. 21.

“It kills every one of us to do it, but we have to do it,” Sullivan said of the December food basket decision.

The number of households the center serves has more than tripled, to 902, since September 2007, and executive director Susan Gustaitis expects that number to balloon to above 1,000 by the end of the year.

“There’s been no year like this one,” said Eugenie Maine, an incoming board member.

People will still be able to get holiday-type food during December as long as donations of those items keep coming in, Gustaitis said.

Often food donations dip during the holiday season, so the center is encouraging the community to donate foods such as stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables to include in the pantry stock that would help make a holiday meal, board members said.

The Jonnycake Center is at 1231 Kingstown Rd. On Oct. 17, it will open an expanded food pantry at 1183B Kingstown Rd., behind Divozzi Bakery in Peace Dale.

kmulvane@projo.com