FRANKLIN, Tenn — Gas prices continue to rise and it's having an impact on those who use their car to help those in need.

The Mid-Cumberland Meals-on-Wheels in Tennessee is experiencing this firsthand. Staff say they already had a volunteer quit because of the rising costs.

Around 10 a.m., volunteers start trickling in to grab the food orders for their routes in Franklin.

Many volunteers like Gail Stark help serve over 300,000 meals annually from 17 meal sites in the region.

"I retired probably 12 years ago, and I thought 'you know I really need to do something to help other people, I feel so blessed with what I have been, how can I give back?' and so I signed up."

Starck has been helping for two years now and calls it one of the most rewarding things that she has ever done in her life.

She helps serve more than 11 million meals to seniors in Middle Tennessee.

Staff say not only is it important these seniors get a nutritious meal but meet people as well.

"It’s very important to our clients here in the area to get a meal because sometimes it is the only interaction that they have with a volunteer or with someone throughout the day," said site manager, Lindsey Burbank.

But with the gas prices climbing, it's driving away the help this organization says it desperately needs.

"I’ve recently just lost a volunteer that can’t deliver right now. She said she’s going to come back as soon as the gas prices go down," Burbank said. "All of our counties especially the ones that go out and the rural areas really do have a hard time when you’re delivering meals miles apart from each other. It’s the first thing that goes, it’s not in their budget."

Mid-Cumberland Meals-on-Wheels is hoping the prices at pump don't continue to turn good help away.

"Gas prices haven't really affected me, I come from Thompson station. So it probably is only a gallon of gas that I use. I know out in some of the rural areas, you know, the folks have to drive a little bit further and use a little bit more but even if gas went up to $20 a gallon, I would still do this because that's how rewarding it is to me," said Starck.

The staff is hopeful they can find more volunteers like Starck.

This story was first reported by Kelsey Gibbs at WTVF in Nashville, Tenn.

As the COVID-19 epidemic continues to throw communities into economic chaos across the country, Meals on Wheels is seeing a tremendous increase in the number of people who can’t afford food for their families.

Before the epidemic, Meals on Wheels in Boston was delivering about 8,000 meals a day to low-income families. That number is now up to 12,000 meals a day and climbing. Those who oversee these critical lifelines across the country believe the need is only going to increase as more Americans find themselves out of work.

“We’re in for a long haul,” said Valerie Frias, CEO of the non-profit Ethos in Boston which helps distribute meals. “While people are doing a good job staying at home, the consequence of that is greater food insecurity.”

Across the country, the more long-term impact for organizations like this one is funding. Most Meals on Wheels programs rely on donations and public grants. The concern is that there won’t be enough money to match the increased demand the program is facing.

“We are doing the best we can with the dollars we have but can only stretch things so far, and the need is so great,” she said.

Frias’ concern for the elderly her organization serves also goes beyond food. For many seniors, the delivery of a meal once a day may be the only time they may have someone check in on how they’re coping.

“This is as much as the food as it is the interaction,” Frias said. “It’s a safety check and also a social connection to make sure that social distancing doesn’t mean social isolation.”