By Jeremy RobertsonRecord Staff WriterEach day, Agape officials watch as individuals and families in need of food and clothing come to them for help.“Agape serves more than 8,000 people in Warren County,” said Cristine Miller, Agape thrift shop manager.She was speaking to a group at the NECAC (North East Community Action Corporation) Hunger Banquet June 3 at Warrenton Christian Church.The attendees were separated into three classes — high-, middle- and low-income — based on a random drawing done at the door.The low-income class consisted of about half of the diners in attendance. That reflects the 43 percent of Warren County residents who are food-insecure, according to Miller.“That means they never know where their next meal will come from,” she says.Last week’s hunger banquet was held to highlight poverty and hunger that is experienced in the area.The event opened with a speech from Betty Whittaker, a NECAC representative from one of the 12 Northeast Missouri counties the agency operates in. She explained that the diners would be served different food according to their assigned income levels.Higher-income diners were waited on directly by volunteers and NECAC representatives. They were served a salad, and entrée, and a dessert. Their drinks were brought to them in glasses.Middle-income diners were served family-style, with pitchers of drinks and bowls of food brought to the table. They were served a salad and pasta for dinner.Low-income diners had no tables to sit at. They stood in a line and waited to have their soup doled into Styrofoam bowls. They were served no salad, no dessert, and many of them said they were left feeling hungry.In comparison, a few individuals at the higher-income table said they were too full for dessert.“Eighty-seven percent of kids (in Warren County) meet the guidelines to have free or reduced lunch,” said Miller. She spoke about how she thought shaming these children for being poor was unacceptable.To help fight the local hunger problem, Agape launched Operation Orange Bag earlier this year. The program allows community members to collect monthly donations from members of their neighborhood, their clubs or their businesses.A neighborhood captain fills up a reusable orange bag with donations from members of their community. Agape officials hope that new program will increase year-round donations and encourage people to buy an extra can a week just for their orange bag.For more information, contact NECAC at 636-456-8191 or Agape at 636-456-4645.NECAC