Food pantries welcome busy time of year

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - It's the busiest time of the year for food pantries, putting Thanksgiving meals on tables across the state.     

This year, pantries are telling 24-Hour News 8 the economy is bringing in more first time visitors than ever. 

Hundreds waited in line – in many cases more than an hour – outside the Community Cupboard Food Pantry in Indianapolis.

Corina Eilerc comes to the food pantry at least twice a month. She says without the help her Thanksgiving table would be empty.

“It helps out, and if we don’t get to it then you're just short, especially with my kids. They're getting to be teenagers and they eat a lot more. Whatever you don’t get, you just have to fall back on what you do,” said Eilerc.

Tiffany Evans is in charge of distributing food at the pantry. She says not only is demand up, but the organization is seeing an increase in people using the services for the first time.

“They do have a lot of the embarrassment, the difficulty of even standing in the line, and we're just here to comfort them,” said Evans. 

For those who waited in the long line, there is one traditional Thanksgiving item they will be without – turkey.

The food pantry does not have enough to go around. 

Evans says everyone who walks through the door will be fed, even if it’s not a traditional Thanksgiving meal.