How is the face of hunger changing?
When the recession began, the number of people looking for food assistance jumped. The need for help continues to grow, but now we see people who have never needed help before. Their hours or pay has been cut and they are taking advantage of food banks so that they can keep up with rent and utilities. Seniors, too, are facing the brutal choice of paying for life-sustaining medication or getting enough to eat. Hunger is often associated with homelessness, but the reality is that people who experience hunger are young and old, suburban and urban, working and non-working. One in six children in America live at the poverty line – which the federal government defines as a having income below $22,050 for a family of four. About 30 percent of the meals distributed by River City Food Bank goes to feed children.
