Food Banks Should Play the Lottery?

The cost of food is up.

The cost of gasoline is up.

Home heating costs are up.

We as a nation gave $4 billion of unanticipated funds to disaster-relief related charities this year.

And yet, I'm reading in many places that things are going to be just fine for our direct-service charities this year--those that serve food, give shelter, and otherwise provide salvation for the poor? How can this be? Are we expecting money to fall from the sky, like some sort of scene from It's a Wonderful Life?

If this is true, this is the freakiest economic option I've ever seen.