CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Food pantries are struggling as the demand continues to climb and donations dramatically fall.

An empty warehouse, just weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, turned into thousands of meals for the needy, but that wouldn't have been possible without some major donations.

Shelves normally overflowing with canned goods, meat and potatoes are completely bare at the Union Mission in Charleston.

"It's been a double impact with fewer donations and less food products available," Vice President for the Union Mission, Bob Thompson said. "It kind of puts you in a vice-like situation, and we''ll spend a lot of time on prayer."

This holiday season, it's slim pickings as local pantries like Union Mission Ministries were barely able to provide Thanksgiving meals.

Filling the normal eight tractor-trailers' worth of food is easier said than done, forcing the mission to downsize family portions.

Last year at Thanksgiving, 53,000 people were fed. This year, though, there was less than half of that -- a little more than 22,000 folks.

"There are a lot of people in this community that have been blessed, and those are the folks that need to see that other folks are really struggling," Thompson said. "If they can help with a little bit of extra then they would normally do, we'll put it to good use."

It's the downturn in the economy that Thompson says has companies sticking to their bottom line, and people who usually give are donating less.

"We will make do with what we have and hope that the Lord will provide enough to meet the needs of everybody who has a real need," Thompson said.

With Christmas just around the corner, now the Union Mission is looking to their faith to help provide for the thousands of people in need.

The mission will have its Christmas distribution on Dec. 18, and workers hope people will dig deep in their pockets this holiday season so they can feed an ever-growing need.

Union Mission serves Kanawha and 17 surrounding counties.