Much-needed school supplies for struggling families are coming into Neighborhood House, the wide-reaching social service agency on St. Paul's West Side.

Today, two truckloads of supplies from PCL Construction arrived at the center; more is needed, Neighborhood House officials say.

Echoing reports from other agencies across the state and the country, Steve Kean of Neighborhood House said: "Most people don't realize that the beginning of school brings on extra burdens to parents struggling just to feed their families."

He said last year 1,309 children received school supplies from Neighborhood House and thee expect even more demand this year. 

"We have requests for school supplies from 1,775 students, a 36 percent increase from 2008," he said. "I think the requests are mostly economically driven. July was a record month for demand at our food shelf, with visits up 32 percent from two years ago."

Neighborhood House says it's still short of notebooks, folders, loose leaf papers, scissors, protractors, school boxes and calculators. They also accept cash donations to purchase those items.