VASHON ISLAND, Wash. -- We keep hearing that the recession hasn't hit as hard in our area as in other parts of the country, but don't tell that to the people who live on Vashon Island.

Vashon Island is a rural oasis in the middle of Puget Sound, seemingly a world away from cities -- it's also far away from many governmental agencies. Despite its utopian feel, some island residents are struggling because of our troubled economy.

Yvonne Pitrof runs the local food bank which recently ran perilously low on food due to high demand. She says the Island's trickle down economy has dried up.

"People that just lost a lot of money in the stock market and everything else, one of the things that they're doing is they're cutting back on the people that are cleaning their houses, the people that are cutting their yards, the people that are helping out with odd jobs around the house--those are the first things to go," Pitrof said.

Signs of trouble are everywhere. The owners of a local movie house have had to pour their own money into it to keep the doors open and some 30 homes are in various stages of foreclosure.

One business that's doing very well is the local thrift shop.

Michiko Uto is a massage therapist on Vashon, who says in a choice between food and high fashion, well, there really isn’t a choice and she's a regular at the thrift store.

"Like clothes and shoes, I need to have like 19th century price. This is it," Uto said.

Meanwhile a recent appeal has re-stocked the food bank's shelves, at least for now. Still, Pitrof says it's a constant struggle to feed the 500 people and counting who show every week.

That's an increase of nearly 40-percent in just one year.

"The next few weeks are very critical as far as the donations coming in, in really setting the tone for what next year looks like for us," Pitrof said.

Workers at the Vashon Island food bank -- are asking for donations of food or money to help see them through the busy holiday season.

Island residents say they are hoping for a turn-around by next year.