"The price of gas is up, and the price of food is going up," said Alina Miller of Knoxville.
Miller is one of 500 people that visits the new Northwest Knoxville FISH Pantry every day.
"I try to get here early, so I can be the first one in line,"she said.
Wednesday, community members helped dedicate the West Scott Avenue location.There are now four FISH Pantries located in the city.
They are located in South, East, West and now Northwest Knoxville.
"We're very surprised by the number of families that need to come to the FISH Pantry for assistance," said Jim Wright, Director of the organization.
Wright said that they are seeing twice as many people at all of their facilities compared to this time last year.
"We're serving 10,000 people a month from all four pantries," Wright said.
The economy has increased the need and decreased the donation base. The shelves are half-bare at every FISH Pantry.
"We may have to thin the soup to make sure everyone gets a food bag," he said.
It is a lesson Alina Miller has already learned.
"My mama always told me a little bit can go a long way," she said.
