Lutheran Social Services dedicated the pantry Sunday at a ceremony at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, 10TV's John Fortney reported.

Unemployment runs as high as 15 percent in some southeast Ohio counties, and many residents do not have access to nearby food pantries.

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"So many families down there are without food, and in the last year approximately 50 food pantries have closed," said Barb Packer, the organization's director of food pantry services.

The truck containing the mobile food pantry targets Gallia, Lawrence and Meigs counties twice a month.

"Each time the truck goes in we take about 8,500 pounds of food in, and we're serving in the neighborhood of anywhere from 100 to 125 families each time the truck stops," Packer told 10TV News.

The mobile food pantry runs in conjunction with the Ohio Benefit Bank, a program run by the State of Ohio designed to help link low income families to help near them.

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