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People hungry and fed up with long waiting periods to get food stamps are turning to food banks to feed their families.

Florida’s food banks gave away 72 million pounds of food last year. Food bank workers say it’s getting harder to meet the demand. They’re asking the state to speed up the food stamp application process. President of the Florida Food Bank Association David Reaney said charities are picking up the slack.

“We can’t keep up with the demand if the food stamp program is also not keeping up with the demand. That’s why getting the program working is so important,” said Reaney.

The Department of Children and Families should receive 22 million federal stimulus dollars. DCF is also asking the state for an additional six million. The department wants to use the money to create 288 jobs to help speed up the food stamp application process.