People started getting in line before 7 a.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ironton on Saturday for the annual “Christmas with Dignity” food giveaway.

St. Paul member and event volunteer Maurita Stanley said the community’s response to the event is always tremendous.

“This shows some families’ need for food is unbelievable,” she said. “People have been lined up since early this morning.”

Each box contained enough food to typically last each family three or four days.

Lutheran Social Services Mobile Food Pantry manager Mark McPherson hauled 7,000 pounds of produce and 2,600 pounds of bread products to the church on Saturday.

“We have grapefruits, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, onions, bagels bread and cupcakes,” he said. “We put this food in individual bags and give them away.”

Each bag contains 12 of each item and two acorn squashes.

The Lutheran Social Services Mobile Food Pantry serves five counties in southern Ohio and routinely visits Lawrence County twice a month to fulfill orders from 300 families.

Director of food pantry services Brad Draper said some families’ need for food is dire.

“There are people who lose their jobs, get their hours cut or have medical issues and money for food is not abundant,” he said. “We have seen instances where people combine households to meet income requirements so they can get food.”

Of the 997 families served in mobile food pantry’s five-county area, 100 were receiving food for the first time, Draper said.

Dozens of volunteers help make the program possible, which were members of the church’s congregation and their families, and the Rock Hill High School National Honor Society, among others.