For the last few years and especially during 2008, many churches, food assistance organizations and food pantries declare the immediate emergency they face because the need for more food and more donations have decreased, while the number of people requesting food assistance increases. The elderly, families, working people, middle income households, the poor, and the homeless are suffering. Hunger is on the rise.
We live in a country that is nearing a recession with rising job losses, high food costs, increasing food taxes, shortages in food assistance by programs reliable for those in need, increases in homelessness, and suffering from hunger. It is more than just the elderly, the poor, the homeless and newly unemployed seeking food assistance. Middle income households are finding this squeeze on their pocketbooks and the need to seek food assistance.
In communities nearby, in my neighborhood, and in many across this country, churches, places like the C.O.O.L. Food Pantry, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and many other food assistance programs and organizations find themselves between a rock and hard place. The number in need exceeds the amount of food they can provide. People could normally rely on these places for food once a week or daily.
Families find that rising property taxes, rising food costs, high utility costs, job losses, health problems and health care costs, home, car, and appliance repairs, and other economic burdens have pushed them to food assistance. They are running out of places to find help.
For years, the discussions focused on how poor children and those children from working class homes went to school to eat breakfast and lunch. At least at school, they could find hot and guaranteed meals. This was deemed an issue that only impacted specific parts of society.
However, we are finding that many more families and individuals are facing this unfortunate fate of hunger. It has become the unexpected reality for people, that never expected to be faced with hunger in their lives.
They are thankful for the many programs that exist, but how many of them will continue to be available if funding and donations have ceased. If we are moving towards an economy, where companies will have nearly laid off 1 million people by the end of the year, how we can logically expect for people to continue to fight against hunger for themselves and their families?
Hunger is seriously on the rise. Hunger is impacting families all across the United States of America. I hope it does not become an epidemic.
There are plenty of people that are living with more than enough resources to survive, and yet there are people that continue to live each day without a drop of food. It is not right to allow somone to suffer. we must all share the burden of poverty.
Great blog.