The Foodbank has received a $100,000 donation from the Harry A. Toulmin Jr., and Virginia B. Toulmin Fund of The Dayton Foundation, Executive Director Burma Thomas announced Wednesday.

Thomas said this gift will help feed the growing population of families in need.

From 2008 through the end of fiscal year 2010, demand at The Foodbank grew at more than 23 percent per year from 2.9 million pounds of food to more than 4.9 million pounds. Demand has continued to grow at a rate of 20 percent through February of 2011.

The Foodbank experienced a sharp decline in holiday donations at the end of 2010, collecting about 32,000 pounds of canned food from October through November compared to 50,000 pounds during the same period in 2009. Holiday donations, which usually make up about 7 percent of The Foodbank’s operating budget, were down 36 percent from 2009.

“The deep recession and slow recovery have affected nearly everyone, but it has had a disproportionately negative effect on those who already needed community assistance,” Thomas said in announcing the gift. “This generous donation will help us continue to meet the growing demand.”

In 2009, longtime Dayton resident Virginia B. Toulmin announced she was giving a legacy gift of more than $20 million to the Harry A. Toulmin Jr., and Virginia B. Toulmin Fund of The Dayton Foundation. It was the foundation’s largest single gift since its establishment in 1921.

The gift is an unrestricted fund that allows The Dayton Foundation to grant funds where they are needed most in the Dayton community.

The Foodbank operates food relief programs throughout Montgomery, Greene and Preble counties.