With the economy weakening, a Stamford food pantry says it is being strained by increasing demand.

Directors of food pantries across the country are seeing an unprecedented amount of people in need. At the Wilson Food Pantry in Stamford, the story is no different.

Joyce Gumbus, the pantry's coordinator, says about 100 people lined up for tickets at 11 a.m. Thursday so they could return two hours later and pick up food. She says it was the most people she had ever seen to pick up food, and that it's difficult to have enough for everybody.

Gumbus says she normally starts passing out turkeys for Thanksgiving in the middle of November. However, she does not have any yet and anticipates she'll need about 400 to 600 turkeys for the holiday.

"We need lots of food, but we are not getting it because the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County is not getting it," she says. "If they don't get food, then we don't get food."