Thanksgiving was a day many of us spent with family and friends around a dinner table with a holiday feast.

But not everyone is so lucky this holiday season.

A new report by the USDA shows that food insecurity - the inability to provide enough food for a household - is at an all time high in the United States.

In North Carolina, the situation is even more dire, with the Tar Heel state tied for the fastest-growing rate of food insecurity in the U.S, according to Louisa Warren, a policy analyst with the N.C. Justice Center focusing on public benefits.

"While many Americans are getting ready to feast this Thanksgiving, a record number of Americans face a literal famine," Warren said. "When more than a million children go to bed hungry in the U.S., we know it's long past time to act."

Scotland County has the second highest poverty rate in North Carolina, with 28.9 percent of residents living at or below the poverty line. Only Robeson County has a higher poverty rate at 30.8 percent.

Scotland also has a 16.5 percent unemployment rate, the highest in the state, and has 9,594 of its residents, or about one in four, enrolled on food stamps.

Local food agencies worry about shorter supplies for more acute needs in Scotland County this coming holiday season.

Church and Community Services, one of the lead local agencies at distributing food aid, have seen a deluge of people as the local economy has suffered, according to Leslie Ann Womack.

"We've been open 210 days in the first ten months of this year," Womack said. "We've been able to give out food just 117 of those days."

While there has always been a need for food, clothing and shelter in Scotland County, Womack says that need has risen sharply during the national recession.

An example she gave was the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, a directive of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"Sixty-five percent of people that came in and asked for help were brand new," Womack said. "They had not been here before."

Some lined up as early as 3 a.m. for aid when their offices open at 8:30.

On Wednesday, the agency gave out bags of food to 656 people over a little more than four hours.

She said some churches have had to turn people away from their food banks because supplies ran out.

Church and Community Services also has not been able to keep its pantry stocked for those who need help.

Of the 117 days Church and Community Services distributed food at its Atkinson Street office, 10 were the free food giveaways funded by federal dollars, 43 of those were soup days and the other 64 were from daily food donations.

Womack says she is grateful to the many people who give, sometimes on a weekly or even daily basis.

However, the agency never has enough for everyone in need.

"At some point, we don't have food and we don't give it out, but we try," Womack said.

Church and Community Services will still give out soup every friday and will have another free food giveaway on Dec. 23, but other food and clothing needs will only be given as the donations come in.

Clothing is also in short supply, an important need as the temperatures start to drop.

"We usually get more clothes in during the spring and summer months because people are doing spring cleaning," Womack said.

Church and Community Services is not the only local agency reporting extra need this year.

Northview Harvest Ministries, another major supplier of food to needy Scotland County residents, reported higher need this year.

Pastor Joyce Blease says the organization has seen those it serves increase dramatically in recent years.

She pointed to Christmas Cheer as an example.

In its first year, it served 17 children. That number increased to 180 last year and the organization plans to help 300 children this year.

Volunteers at Northview Harvest Ministries Outreach Center on Lee's Mill Road in Laurinburg have seen more people come in asking for food, clothing or help on their light bills, Blease said.

Even so, Blease says the organization is working harder than ever to help those in need.

The summer feeding program, which the organization oversaw, provided 23,000 meals to children who receive subsidized or free lunches.

Blease says they are working to provide toys and goodie bags for 300 local children, along with meals for their families. Those receiving this service have already been registered and includes autistic children and select at-risk youth.

The group also just furnished meals and goodie bags for 85 children at Falcon Children's Home.

The agency is also working to increase its capacity with a new outreach center in the works that will be able to feed more while also having a homeless shelter that can house 12.

"Despite all of the economic downturn, America is still the most blessed nation on Earth," Blease said.

As we are so blessed to be in America, Blease says, we all have a responsibility to care for those in need as most have the means.

Womack and Blease both encouraged people to help those in need by volunteering with or donating to a local food agency.

They recommend people talk to their churches as many local congregations host their own food banks or work with other agencies to feed and clothe those in need.

North Carolina's rate of food insecurity was above the national average, with 13.7 percent of North Carolina households - about one in seven - experiencing low or very low food security, according to the N.C. Justice Center. Nationwide, 12.2 percent of families experience low or very low food security.

North Carolina's food insecurity rates are also growing as fast as any other state. From 1996-2008, the report shows, North Carolina's rates of food insecurity grew 3.9 percent. This ties the state with Maine and Missouri for the fastest-growing rate.

"The rise in unemployment is definitely part of the reason for the increase, but this report also shows that more families experiencing food scarcity include at least one adult with a full-time job," Warren said. "This tells us that stagnant wages have devastated workers' ability to put food on the table."

The data was collected during December 2008, so the national numbers capture the middle of the recession. The center believes the report understates current issues as the recession has deepened since the study.

Rates of public benefits use demonstrate the need, the center says. In August 2008, 993,081 North Carolina households were on food stamps. A year later on August 2009, 1,231,886 NC households were using the Food & Nutrition Services program.

"With more families suffering, programs like food stamps are even more vital than before," Warren said. "Not only do these programs help families feed their hungry children, studies show public benefits like food stamps work to stimulate the local economy."

The report includes tables of state by state data on pages 20 and 21, showing the prevalence of food insecurity over time. For the state tables, they combine three years of data.