More Impoverished Americans Suffer From Hunger
It was revealed recently in a report issued by Feeding America that one in eight Americans doesn’t have enough to eat and requires emergency food assistance. Feeding America is a network made up of thousands of food pantries, soup kitchens and similar agencies serving 37 million American people.
Feeding America held 61,000 face to face interviews and surveyed more than 37,000 charitable agencies to get a feel for how much insecurity their clients felt about food. People that responded that they were insecure said they couldn’t afford to buy more food once they had run out, that they had been forced to skip meals because they couldn’t afford to eat, and that they could not afford to eat when they were hungry.
Feeding America currently helps 37 million people yearly; 14 million are children. That is a 46 percent increase in people looking for emergency hunger relief since 2006. Seventy nine percent of the 14.5 million households helped out by FA have annual incomes that fall below the official federal poverty line. The federal poverty line is $22,025 for a family of FOUR. Ten percent of families are now homeless, sixty percent do not have access to a car. Not surprisingly, more than one third of FA clients are currently employed but still struggle to get enough to eat.
To add to the dismal news, the number of people forced to choose between spending money on food and other basic necessities has increased. 46 percent of clients said that they were forced to choose between buying food for their families or paying for utility services. 40 percent have been forced to choose between food or paying rent or mortgages.
But perhaps the most heartbreaking news is that 34 percent had to pick between food or paying for prescription drugs or other medical treatments.
This report shows us that huge measures have to be taken. More and more people are being touched by poverty as each day passes. When a person sees a homeless man on the street, they may cast judgment, call them a junkie. It is only when poverty affects you as an individual that you are ready to demand change.
Mallory Megan is employed by a debt collection agency. Also, she does stories on business, finance, consumer spending, and debt collection.