Despite a seemingly stable job picture locally, basketfuls of donated groceries are rolling out of Storehouse Community Food Pantry like stock cars racing out of pit row.

“We served enough people to make 83 meals the Thursday before Thanksgiving,” pantry president Charles Calhoun said. “There’s a lot of food insecurity out there.”

Thursdays are typically busiest in between aisles at the nonprofit’s digs at 907 South St. When the front door opens at 5 p.m. on Thursdays, it’s the only time all week they do so in the evening — they’re also open 10 a.m. to noon on Mondays and Wednesdays.

And it’s not uncommon for people seeking the pantry’s help for the first time, bunched near the front door as volunteers roll baskets of food to people’s vehicles.

“I thank God for these people,” Pamela Hall said, waiting to meet with pantry organizers to register for donated food.

Hall waited outside with her son, Cashmere, and talked about losing a child in the past year and a long road back to stability.

“I’m back in Mississippi for the first time in a year,” Hall said. “It’s just a huge blessing for me right now.”

LaTonya King, Hall’s cousin, waited for food in the packed pantry alongside her daughter, Angel. Supplemental income from Social Security isn’t enough to put food on the table, King said, and the few visits the pantry allows are crucial.

“I only come to the pantry when I need to come here,” King said. “Usually, three times a year.”

In November, pantry officials cited figures showing an acute level of food insecurity, a term that refers to not knowing where one’s next meal will come from. Warren County’s food insecurity was 22.6 percent, according to the nonprofit Feeding America. Statewide, it was 22.3 percent, tops in the nation.

Families and individuals must show a photo ID and a Social Security card to receive food from the pantry. They also must explain the reason for a food emergency in their household. Recipients are allowed three visits per year.

Unemployment in Warren County was 8 percent in October, the most recent month for which statistics are available from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. The rate hasn’t changed in three months, but the pantry expects to be busier than usual this holiday season.

“It’s lost jobs, not enough hours at work, or they’re working but not making the money they used to make,” volunteer Pam Gee said. “It’s the kinds of things people can’t plan for.”

The all-volunteer organization accepts non-perishable food items and certain refrigerated and frozen items. In fiscal 2014, they served 4,342 people, or about 13.7 percent more people than fiscal 2013, according to volunteers’ numbers. Five years ago, about 3,500 were served. Volunteers say the past year’s activity translates to about 39,078 meals distributed.

The pantry began in 2002 and moved into its current location after it outgrew previous sites inside the United Way of West Central Mississippi and at the Southern Cultural Heritage Center.