There are empty spaces where the pallets of canned green beans and corn normally go, the last of the cereal went into bags to be delivered this weekend, and fewer types of food sit on the bagging line at New Haven Helping Hands.

Despite the slimmer bags of food going out and the struggle to keep up with the needs of new families signing up each week, New Haven was recognized last month at the annual awards banquet for excellence in rural hunger relief by Tarrant Area Food Bank, which works with several hundred food banks in the 13-county area.

Jim Rhodes, director of New Haven, said the model food bank award was based on the percentage of county residents who had access to their service, or the population of the towns they serve divided by the county’s total population.

The Tarrant Area Food Bank told him New Haven makes food available to 81 percent of the county, Rhodes said.

Besides providing food, clothing and other needed items to families in the Mineral Wells area three days each week, New Haven treks out to Graford and the Gordon, Mingus and Strawn city hall areas on designated weekends each month to hand out food bags.

“We were honored at that,” Rhodes said, holding the small award. “[But] I would trade this for a truck load of food or even a half.”

“Donations have tremendously decreased,” Rhodes said.

If last year’s food shortage was bad – when New Haven requested 5,000 pounds of food – this year is worse, the worst he’s ever seen.

“We never really recovered,” Rhodes said.

They are continuing to feed about 600 families, or 1,200 people, each month, but the bags are smaller and last a shorter time without the normal canned vegetables and other items the food bank has already run out of.

“We’ll probably have enough for three more weeks,” Rhodes said of their canned goods supply.

Tuesday, the food bank served 41 families, feeding 110 people.

As church offerings go down with the economy, New Haven’s budget has also gone down, Rhodes said. With 50 percent to 75 percent of the charity’s income coming from donations from churches, it can really hurt.

Besides decreasing donations at home, Rhodes said he is finding less to buy at prices they can afford in the area because everyone is short on donations.

His usual supplier, Tarrant Area Food Bank, usually sells to New Haven around 15 cents per pound but right now they don’t have the type of food that can be used to pass out to families, Rhodes said.

Sometimes he’ll spend money on diesel fuel to drive to Oklahoma City to Feed the Children International where he has bought food in the past, but Rhodes decided it isn’t worth it for the few types of items they have available, such as candy.

“I’m driving longer for less,” Rhodes said. “I might have to buy from a wholesaler,” a much more expensive means of obtaining food.

The summer, the busy season for those who provide food to needy families because children aren’t getting two meals at school each day, further stretched New Haven and now they’re trying to deal with increasing numbers of eligible families.

Though the number of families they are helping has stayed fairly steady over the past year, the number of new applicants is increasing and if the trend continues, they may be feeding more families in coming months, according to Rhodes.

“One day last week, we had 10 new applications,” Rhodes said.

One volunteer said they are seeing more people who haven’t been to the shelter in 10 to 12 years.

Though 51 percent of their clientèle are seniors on a fixed income, they have been seeing an increase in the number of people in their 40s and 50s, rather than the stereotypical struggling young person who didn’t graduate high school, according to Rhodes.

Ninety-eight percent of the people who come to them have an income, Rhodes said. “We’re trying to increase the quality of life [for the working poor].”

To help deal with the shortage and continue feeding the needy during the hard economic times, New Haven is asking for the community’s help.

“Food drives help a lot,” Rhodes said.

Early this week, they expect to have a banner up and several barrels outside Helping Hands on S.W. 3rd Street to collect drive-by donations of non-perishable items.