The Renton Salvation Army recently reported serving a record 197 people in one day at its food bank last Wednesday.

The church had recently been experiencing more people in need of a hot free meal, said Capt. Chris Aird. He suspects it is because of the tough economic times people are experiencing. Last month saw an additional 974 new clients the Renton Salvation Army served, on top of the thousands that staff already serve.

“We are very very busy,” said Aird.

The Salvation Army will start a roughly six-month renovation project for its building at 720 S Tobin St. in Renton in the next couple of weeks. The project was started with funds from a bequeath from local resident Helen Dyrdal, whose estate donated $500,000 to the organization in 2010. They are hoping to raise an additional $300,000 to complete the project.

For more information on the project, visit www.salvationarmyrenton.org