Mother Nature has hit Phoenix-area food banks in more ways than one.

Typically, they rely on winter food surpluses from holiday donations and harvests from southern Arizona farms.

But unusually cold temperatures this winter have caused critical shortages at those southern farms that normally supply more than 4 million pounds worth of produce each winter to St. Mary's Food Bank.

"We're going to have somewhere around 2 million pounds this year," said Jerry Brown with the food bank. "So, you're talking about anywhere from a million and a half to two million pounds that we normally receive that aren't going to be coming this year.

For that reason, he said they could use the public's help filling the 2-million-pound deficit.

The food bank is asking donors to bring in canned and fresh produce, including ripe oranges, and other citrus growing on backyard trees.

St. Mary's has two locations, one in downtown Phoenix and one in Surprise.