Greenwich

AMID this holiday season, food pantries in lower Connecticut are reporting a surge in the number of residents seeking a decent meal.

Some food providers in Fairfield County  from well-heeled towns like Greenwich to more urban areas like Stamford and Norwalk  say the demand is twice that of last year.

“I have had to turn people away,” said Joyce Gumbus, who oversees the 164 Wilson Memorial Food Pantry in Stamford. The pantry is providing groceries for up to 400 people a week, compared with 200 a week last year, Ms. Gumbus said.

“There were times I went home and wanted to cry,” she said.

Ms. Gumbus is not alone.

Kate Lombardo, executive director of the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County, said the 100-plus agencies that receive food through her organization were reporting higher numbers than ever. In Norwalk, for example, the Christian Community Action food pantry, open five mornings a week, Monday through Friday, often draws 30 to 35 families a day, many more than its limit of 24 families. Three years ago, the average was 15 families a day, said its director, Christi Pope.