In some counties, unemployment has soared to 15 percent, and demand for access to the basic need of food is staggering. During the past two years, 50-60 food pantries have closed, leaving people in need without a place to turn.

Now a Columbus-based agency has stepped in to help.

When Lutheran Social Services learned about the food pantry closures, the group put its pantry in motion, trucking food to the southeast corner of the state each week.

SLIDESHOW: Images From Report

"You think you how hard their life is down there," said Mark McPherson, Lutheran Social Service's mobile food pantry manager. "I don't know their names, but I know faces, and I can picture their faces in my mind."

During a recent trip to Ironton, Ohio, people gathered outside the city's only Lutheran Church, waiting for assistance. The once-invincible steel city is now crushed by the weight of unemployment.

Amy Blevins said she was seeking help from the food pantry for the first time because she and her husband had both lost their jobs.

"I didn't see it coming. We went from the end of November to the end of January with not one penny," Blevins said. "We went through Christmas with nothing."

For Blevins, supporting her family is everything.

"They want this, they want that and everything," Blevins said.  "We can't give it and it's hard."

On this day, Blevins and her family were able to get help.

"My kids love those oranges," she said.

"They do?" a volunteer asked. "Let's put an extra one in."

Blevins said there are times when she does not know what she will feed her children. But after her trip to the mobile food drive, some hope was restored.

"I think it will get better," Blevins said. "We are a strong family."

Throughout Ohio's Appalachia, there are thousands of other people with nowhere to turn. A food bank that used to have food in its aisles now stands empty. In the past year, the number of people visiting food pantries in the region has jumped 133 percent, Seavert reported.

Farther to the south, along the Ohio River in Gallia County, that number swelled to 203 percent. Lines at food pantries grow as more factories lay off workers and more stores close.

Cathy Gholston, a U.S. Army veteran and widow, said her food stamps don't stretch far enough. She's been forced to rely on food drives for extra help.

"It's just like the Army; hurry up and wait," Gholston said.

The food Gholston brought home from the drive will last more than a week.

"I really do appreciate it," she said. "I love them.

"I am very reluctant to do this because it's really embarrassing sometimes, but the people here were genuine."

Watch 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for additional information.

Additional Information:

• Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio

©2009 by 10TV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.