As the recession extends its bony fingers to touch more and more local households, the lines of those seeking help in order to meet basic needs grow ever longer.

Fifty households every month -- almost two every day -- are joining Orange County's food stamp program. Many more people are applying for emergency funds from the county's programs to keep the rent paid, the lights on and the heat going.

The increased demand, of course, puts a profound strain on resources. The county's social services department is trying to cut as many non-essential items as possible in order to focus on essentials. Even so, it's going to be very difficult; already the waiting list for child care subsidies, which enable working parents to continue working, is in the hundreds.

Given the tough times, we're heartened to hear the county commissioners instruct the social services director, Nancy Coston, to request whatever she needs to meet residents' basic needs, and to make sure that struggling residents know what services are available to them. "The safety net is absolutely crucial," Commissioner Bernadette Pelissier said. "I'm willing to forgo on other things in order to have that safety net."

She's right about where our priorities should be. We may have to do without some things we had planned, at least for a while, in order to reach out to those who need help. The people who are hurting are our friends and neighbors. One day they might be us.

But we can't expect DSS or organizations such as the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service to do all the lifting. This is an affluent community. We have a long tradition of being a caring and involved community as well. Throughout the history of this place, individuals have recognized needs and stepped up to meet them. That's how IFC got started. Just recently, it's how another nonprofit organization, called TABLE, got started -- it fills backpacks with healthy food and sends them home with local kids at risk of hunger for the weekend to help bridge the gap between school meals.

This is a time of need. You don't have to form an organization in order to help. Even in an uncertain economy, many of us have the ability to do something -- drop off a bag of canned goods, write a check, sponsor a family in need of help with child care. None of us can help everybody. But most of us can help somebody.