Food banks across the country are reporting more demand this holiday season, with more people feeling the weight of the economic downturn. In North Dakota, the situation is less clear.

Emergency food demand appears to be down in western North Dakota this year, likely because of the oil boom in the region, said Mary Goeres, spokeswoman for a food pantry in Dickinson.

"Our economy in this area is really good at the moment," she said Thursday. "People are working more, and money is easier to come by."

Demand is up in other parts of the state, however. At the Salvation Army in Jamestown, in eastern North Dakota, food demand is up about 10-15 percent from last year's holiday season, Maj. Tim Miller said.

"It's hard to say (why) because our economy is really doing pretty good, but I would say (harder financial times) has something to do with it," he said. "We're seeing people we've never seen before."

Students in the Fargo area this week finished a food drive that filled the Fargodome with about 67 tons of food - enough to fill four semitrailer loads. The food and $57,000 in cash donations will go to the Great Plains Food Bank, which serves food pantries around North Dakota.