By Jaime Baranyai

Harold Richardson hurriedly stashed the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner in a brown paper bag and passed it on down the line.

He was among dozens of volunteers who spent Thursday preparing Crosslines' Thanksgiving food baskets for nearly 1,000 families -- a 53 percent increase from last year in the number of households that applied for assistance.

"That's the largest single increase we've seen in a year for this program," said Rev. Mark Struckhoff, director of advancement for the Council of Churches. "We're also seeing a lot of new people."

At the same time when the need has increased, there are no longer free turkeys for the dinners --not since the Willow Brook Foods plant has closed.

"Our costs have gone way up," Crosslines Director Pam Copling said. "With Willow Brook closing, that hit us twice. First off, I've got a bunch of people who used to have jobs and benefits, and I lost my free meat."

Although Harter House provided the meat to Crosslines at a reduced price, the organization has already spent more than $10,000 and expects to buy more for its Christmas food baskets, Struckhoff said.

It's not just the cost of the meat that's hurting Crosslines -- the price of other groceries has also gone up.

The organization relies on donations to shoulder the cost of each $32 basket.

"The only way we can do this is through the generous donations of the people in the Ozarks," Struckhoff said. "We have never had to turn a family away that applied. We've always been able to raise the money by letting the community know we have this need."

In the brown paper bags, families will find everything they need for a Thanksgiving dinner -- as well as other meals that day. The amount of food in the bag depends on the size of the family.

Copeland wants everyone to be able to enjoy a meal with their family next week, something she hopes more families do on a regular basis.

"At least on Thanksgiving, let's make sure everybody has what they need to sit down as a family and eat together," she said. "It's hard to imagine that there's truly hunger right here in the Ozarks, but there is and I see it every day."

Struckhoff noted most of the people who will receive Thanksgiving food baskets come from families where at least one person has a job.

"These are working families -- they're not people who are waiting for a handout," he said. "They're working families who are basically facing a crisis."

He said those applying for assistance are citing the loss of a job, the loss of a spouse's job or a cutback in hours at their current place of work as reasons why they need help this season.

Demand rising

As unemployment continues to rise in the Ozarks, the demand for help at other organizations also is up.

Victory Mission has seen increased need at its Family Ministries office for the past two months, according to Jesse Reed, public relations director for Victory Mission.

The facility used to see 30 to 35 people a day, but that number has jumped to more than 70, he said.

"People are having to choose between utilities, rent and food," he said.

Reed said Victory Mission will give out 600 holiday baskets at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"We want to do more, but that's all we can do," he said. "The need has increased, but the donations have stayed the same."

The demand for help also is high at the Salvation Army, said spokeswoman Shirley McDonald.

Although the Salvation Army doesn't give out Thanksgiving food baskets, it expects to feed more than 300 people at a holiday meal Thursday, she said.

The number of people who regularly eat lunch at the Salvation Army has doubled to nearly 200 people, McDonald said.

The Salvation Army expects an increase in the number of families who apply for a Christmas food and toy basket. Last year around 800 were given out.

"We anticipate a larger signup this year because of the state of the economy," McDonald said.

Crosslines, too, is planning for a lot of Christmas baskets.

"The Thanksgiving holiday applications are a bellwether for the Christmas applications," he said. "A 53 percent increase tells us we're going to be slammed."