Statistics from FeedingAmerica.org reveal that more than 40 million Americans currently face “food insecurity”. It’s a new term for what we used to refer to as hunger, not knowing where your next meal is coming from. 16 million of those are children. These numbers are staggering, but possibly unsurprising. What may be surprising is that a large portion of those Americans are not found in the most impoverished neighborhoods of the urban core, but in America’s suburbs. In 2010, 6.2 million suburban households faced food insecurity. They are the “Newly Needy”, members of the middle class that now face financial crisis and as a result hunger.
As lack of employment and underemployment continue to rise local agencies such as food banks and food pantries are seeing an increase in the number of clients seeking assistance. Since 2006, 74% of the nation’s food pantries have reported a marked increase in clients that visit their emergency food sites. They are also finding that clientele now consists of middle class mothers and fathers struggling to provide food for their families. This is a recurring trend across the nation. Hunger statistics reported by Feeding America show that rates of food insecurity are significantly higher in 9 states: Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Florida, California, and North Carolina.
Bruce Ganger, executive director of the Second Harvest Food Bank of N.E. Florida offered, “…these are people that we all encounter everyday. They are the parents of the children that our children play with they’re the care workers, people we touch everyday that never thought that they would be in this place and they are struggling to make something happen for themselves, but at some point in time they have to ask for help.”
In 2011 the Second Harvest Food Bank of N.E. Florida will distribute 17 million meals worth of food. Unfortunately the need in Northeast Florida is twice that amount. Greater demand than supply for emergency food services is the daunting trend across the nation. Feeding America the nation’s leading domestic hunger- relief agency reports that 1 in 6 Americans currently struggles with hunger. The hidden nature of hunger has lead many to believe that this a problem faced only by the homeless. Today the face of hunger may include a friend, neighbor, or the one that you see in the mirror.
If you need assistance or would like to offer assistance with food insecurity contact: feedingamerica.org or in the Northeast Florida area wenourishhope.org .
References:
Feeding America, http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-facts/hunger-and-poverty-statistics.aspx FeedingAmerica.org
Melissa Ross, Karen Feagins, http://www.wjctondemand.org/ First Coast Connect
Second Harvest, http://www.wenourishhope.org/ wenourishhope.org
Anonymous, . Robbing Peter to Pay. (2010, September). America, 203(7), 5. Retrieved November 10, 2011, from ProQuest Religion. (Document ID: 2150844641).