By Kathleen BergerRecord Staff WriterVolunteering usually makes Jan Long feel good.But lately, those good feelings have been replaced by concern, especially when she’s scouring Agape Ministry Food Pantry shelves in Warrenton, looking for items to fill a food order for a needy family.“It’s not as much fun. It’s more fun when you have stuff to give them,” said Long.As Long grabbed one of only four boxes of saltine crackers left on the shelf, she expressed disappointment in the order she was trying to fill for a family of five. “It’s supposed to be a week’s worth of groceries,” she said.The days leading up to Thanksgiving make Long especially nervous. She said this is the lowest level of donations she’s seen since November 2008. That’s when the stock market crashed, the U.S. economy slipped deeper into recession and unemployment reached its highest level in 14 years.But the economy has been bouncing back. According to the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the latest reported unemployment rate in Warren County was 6.3 percent in August, down from 9.2 percent in January.Interim Director for Agape Ministry of Warren County Carleen Williams, said the unemployment numbers don’t reflect what’s actually taking place.“Some are going back to work but the rate of pay is just not enough. The minimum wage jobs that they’re working are just not covering what their needs are,” said Williams.And Williams said more families are turning to Agape Ministry’s food pantries in Warren County because of food stamp cutbacks. The 2009 Recovery Act’s temporary boost to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called food stamps, ended Nov. 1. The reduction in benefits has affected more than 47 million people. For a family of four, the cutback is $36 a month.Agape Ministry’s Warrenton Food Pantry feeds approximately 100 families a week, while its Wright City Food Pantry helps at least 35 families every week. With the new food stamp reductions, those seeking help at local food pantries is likely to grow.The growing demand to feed more families is just one slice of the 2013 Thanksgiving pie. The ingredients for a successful Thanksgiving involve donations.Longtime volunteer Ken Wessel said the donations from area grocers are languishing.“The stores, unfortunately for us, are getting better inventory control so they don’t have as much to donate” said Wessel.Williams offers another reason. She said area groups hosting holiday food drives are now donating items to another charitable cause, Operation Backpack — a program that provides weekend meals for needy students. It’s something Williams said she wasn’t expecting. While Williams is quick to applaud the community’s generosity, she said resources are now divided. She gave one example:“By this time of year, the schools in our community have done a food drive for us and this year, we did not receive what we normally would have gotten from the schools,” said Williams.A Plea For HelpAgape volunteers point out that Thanksgiving is the season of giving, a time for sharing and togetherness. The organization has purchased Thanksgiving dinner baskets from the Knights of Columbus, which include turkeys and all the trimmings for 82 Warren County families. The ingredients for a full Thanksgiving meal are put into these Thanksgiving dinner baskets.A local church, sponsoring seven families, donated money for Agape Ministry to buy seven more baskets. But there are more families on a waiting list. The hope is for more sponsors and donations, including donations for the weekly needs of poor families.The thought of not being able to provide a meal on Thanksgiving to those in need is heartbreaking for the group of retirees who have devoted many hours to the food pantry year after year.The Agape food pantry ran out of bread and fresh produce last week and expects this will happen again. Williams is also asking for donations of milk, eggs, butter, flour and all of the basic dry and canned foods.“Find it in your heart to know that there are people out there who need help,” said Williams. “If that means writing out a check or opening up your pantry - see what you have in there that you might be able to donate.”Volunteer Norm Lemkemann walked slowly along the pantry shelves, searching. He grabbed items for a box that he thought a family would need to get by, prompting him to share his request.“Cans of corn, green beans,” he said. “ Fruit pies, pumpkin pies and Thanksgiving-type foods.”It’s just that simple to Norm. And from where he was standing, in a barren aisle designed to shelve large quantities of food, it doesn’t seem like too much to ask.  For more information, people can contact Agape at Agape Ministry of Warren County, Inc., 713 Powell, Warrenton, MO 63383, or call 636-456-4645. Email www.agapemo.org.