ORLANDO, Fla. -- Florida now leads the nation in the number of people asking for help buying food. Government statistics show 1 in every 10 Florida families is now receiving food stamps.

Rebecca Roberts walked in the door of the Outreach Center of Orlando in tears Wednesday afternoon. She's a middleclass, single mother of two who recently lost her job.

"I'm not making enough money for even simple necessities like food for my children," said Roberts.

One point eight million Floridians have either applied for, or are currently receiving, food stamps. That's a 21-percent increase from a year ago.

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CLICK FOR HELP: target="0">Food Stamp Assistance

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Workers at the Outreach Center of Orlando saw the requests for assistance begin to spike during the summer. Now, they have 60 to 65 people a day walk through the doors asking for help.

"The record-breaking numbers we are seeing right now are astounding," said Carrie Hoeppner of the Department of Children and Families.

Hoeppner said in December, more then three million calls poured into the agency's help center in Tallahassee. DCF is working to process as many of those applications as possible with no budget increase and no promise of increased manpower to help.

"It's simply not a fact of just not answering the phone," said Hoeppner. "There is just a huge demand right now."

Rebecca Roberts will have to wait 30 days before getting her food stamps.

"It's kind of like one day at a time for now," she said.