Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Hunger in America

From America's Second Harvest:

The worst food inflation in nearly two decades... gas prices at an all-time high... record home foreclosures. It’s not hard to see why the lines at our soup kitchens and food pantries are longer than ever.

Food banks across the country recently reported that demand for emergency food is up by at least 15-20%, and in some regions, as much as 40%.

99% (98.89%) of food bank respondents stated that they have experienced an increase in the number of clients served within the past year. Food banks cite as contributing factors:
92.78% the rising cost of fuel
91.67% the rising cost of food
46.11% mortgage or rent issues
43.33% rising unemployment
42.22% rising underemployment
31.11% the inadequacy of food stamps


The increase in the number of clients is estimated at 15% to 20%.
81.11% of surveyed food banks have indicated that they are currently unable to adequately meet the demand without having to reduce the amount of food or their operations.
54.79% stated that their agencies already have or are considering reducing the amount of food offered to clients.
48.63% of these food banks already have or are considering reducing the variety of food offered to agencies.

45.21% of these food banks responded that they already have or are considering diverting budgeted funds from other areas to purchase food.
43.84% of these food banks stated that they already have or are considering reducing the amount of food offered to agencies in order to meet demand.
27.4% of these food banks responded that some of their agencies already have or are considering reducing the number of new households they will serve.
13.7% of these food banks responded that they already have or are considering reducing or suspending programs and services offered.


And I'm assuming ya'll heard about the likely 15-40% increase in natural gas costs coming up for the Pacific Northwest, right? And here is the rest of it.

2 comments:

Diane J Standiford said...

Yes, food banks and charities in general are hurting in my Pacific NW, home of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezo, Howard Schultz, home to Trump condos, told that a studio goes for $500,000---WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? Everything.

brenda said...

I watched Nancy Pelosi make a speech last night, she said Bush was trying to challenge Congress while they were trying to clean up his mess. And this hunger problem is a part of that mess. People cant afford to donate much to food banks because everything has gone sky high, while they're income stays the same.