CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The tough economic times are affecting almost everyone, including people who've never had to ask for help before. 

The organization Loaves and Fishes helps people in need. They say they've had a 30 percent increase in need. 

"We have broken all records this year in number of people helped," said Beverly Howard, executive director of Loaves and Fishes. 

Last year, they served 70,135 people.

"We have already served more people in 2008 than we served in the entire year of 2007," Howard said. 

Some are people who lost their jobs or are working fewer hours because their employer had to cut back. 

"People who have been working full-time for years are getting less hours because their companies are cutting back, so the paycheck that used to stretch has been cut by 20 percent and they still have the same bills," said Howard.

Others are people who used to give, but are now finding themselves in need. 

"I volunteered at the Salvation Army in the homeless shelters serving food. Now I feel like I'm close to being there myself.  It's not a very pleasant situation," said a woman lost her job as an accountant and didn't want to share her name.

Howard says this is the worst she has seen in the organization's 33 years of giving back to the community and she doesn't see it getting better anytime soon. 

"We hear a lot about people who fall through the cracks in our community, but these people are not falling through the cracks. They are falling off the edge into an abyss," she said.

There are 17 pantries in Mecklenburg County where people who can't afford to buy groceries can pick up a week's supply of food.

They must have a referral. But Howard points out they've never turned anyone away.

If you'd like to donate, visit www.loavesandfishes.org.