Above, God's Open Hands volunteers load pallets of food into a truck Monday at East Texas Food Bank in Tyler. At left, God's Open Hands President Pat Martin talks about the number of items families and individuals receive from the center in Chandler each week. CHANDLER - Week after week, volunteers collect thousands of dollars worth of food to distribute here from God's Open Hands.

And week after week, it's not enough.

"We get what we can," God's Open Hands President Pat Martin said. "But what you see on those shelves probably won't last through tomorrow. More people are moving into the area, and more are falling on hard times. Things deplete rapidly."

Government regulations mandate the food bank can only distribute food to the needy based on family size and income. Evenso, the center served more than 1,100 individuals in September and over 340 families.

"We gave out 342 food boxes," Martin said. "We were running around 250, then 300. More and more families are coming in, and we try to serve them every way we can."

Paul Bryant Photos On Monday, volunteers carried two truck loads of dairy products, vegetables, cookies, crackers, cereal, fruit, pasta, and other items from the East Texas Food Bank in Tyler, one of two such food banks in the city that supplies God's Open Hands. The other is King's Store House.

The collection on Monday cost the center more than $600.

"We do this every Monday and Wednesday," volunteer and Chandler Lion Tom Martin said. "A lot of people bring food to the center, and the churches have food drives periodically."

Pam Martin said community cooperation has been good and volunteers are grateful for it, but that more help is needed if God's Open Hands is going to meet the increasing demand for food.

"We operate on donations - no government funding. Churches, businesses, and organizations are what support us. People in this area have been really good about helping. But we have to pay rent, utilities, and do maintenance, and that's on top of our food costs."

She said donations vary in size and frequency among contributors, but monetary gifts are preferred.

"Money donations are better for us than product donations because money goes so much further. But if someone gives is $1 or a can, we are grateful."

God's Open Hands orders products from East Texas Food Bank and King's Storehouse based on its inventory level, much like a grocery store. While canned goods are always accepted, cash donations can be stretched farther because food is purchased at a discounted rate.

"Items we can't get from the food banks, we can sometimes get help from vendors," Martin said. "We have to be very careful about what we spend. We have to do this week after week."

The poverty level in Henderson County is about 14 percent. In Brownsboro, it's 22 percent and in Chandler, about 10 percent. The unemployment rate is 8 percent in the county.

Since 2000, the population in Brownsboro has increased by more than 5 percent. During the same period in Chandler, the population has grown by more than 25 percent.

In September, of the 1,171 individuals who received help from God's Open Hands, 48 percent were adults below 55, children accounted for 35 percent, and adults older than 55 accounted for 17 percent.

"We don't turn people away," Martin said. "If they come in and they're in a bind one week or one month, we would help them. If someone comes in and they don't qualify, we'd help them at least one time here or refer them to somewhere else. We try to help them in other ways, too."

Applicants must live in the Brownsboro Independent School District and meet criteria set by law that governs the non-profit center. They can only seek help once a month.

"This is not meant to feed them for a month," Martin said. "It's only a supplement. "

As Thanksgiving and Christmas near, she said, the demand for food will likely increase.

"We see more than 100 people a week. I expect we're going to exceed that in November."

Donations, Martin said, traditionally decrease just after the first of the year and continue to decline through the summer. But the need from families increases.

"During the holidays, we try to give them extra things."

God's Open Hands is open each Tuesday and Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

It's also open on the second Saturday of every month at the same time.

Donations can be made at the center at 104 Jones St. or sent to P.O. Box 865, Chandler, TX 75758.

To volunteer, call 903- 849-6082.

The East Texas Food Bank serves 26 Texas counties.