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As Thanksgiving Nears, the Cupboards of Millions are Bare

Annual USDA Report Finds 35.5 Million Hungry in America as Food Banks Struggle to Stock Shelves: Points Out Critical Need for a Strong Farm Bill

CHICAGO --- November 14, 2007 --- Today, as many of us are planning menus and deciding which holiday gatherings to attend, the United States Department of Agriculture released a sobering reminder that millions of Americans are making decisions between rent, utilities, medicine and the most basic necessity -- food. Its annual study of hunger in America indicates the number of people living at the margins of hunger, struggling to makes ends meet and put food on the table, has increased from 35.1 to more than 35.5 million, including 12.6 million children.

“It’s disheartening to me that so many children in this country are unable to concentrate or function at full capacity in school because their stomachs are empty,” said Vicki Escarra, President and CEO of America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. “Retired senior citizens must skip meals and put their health at risk, simply because they cannot afford a basic diet. Millions of hungry Americans are the working poor, unable to make ends meet on minimum wage salaries. This study is just one more testament to why food banks and hungry Americans need Congress to pass a strong nutrition title in the Farm Bill.”

More than one in ten Americans is hungry or at risk of hunger. Meanwhile, food banks across the country are experiencing dramatic declines in food inventory. Many empty shelves were filled with food from the federal government just a short time ago.  Surplus food donations, or bonus commodities, from USDA to food banks have declined more than 70 percent in the last three years due to a strong agriculture economy.  In 2006, the value of this food support to food banks was down $175 million from 2003.  Food banks are also struggling to meet the rising costs of transporting food and groceries.

  • Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan estimates inventory is down by 1.5 million pounds of food from last year.
  • From July to September, Kansas Foodbank handed out nearly 500,000 pounds more food than in the same three months last year.
  • Food stocks at the Vermont Food Bank are nearly 50 percent below 2006 levels while the number of people served has increased in 12 of the state’s 14 counties.
  • At the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in California, a drop in federal commodity donations has meant a loss of more than 14 million pounds of food, or 10 million meals since 2002.

Additionally, the Food Bank for New York City, as well as food banks in Lansing, Michigan, Ventura County, California and Texas report that their inventories are as low as they have ever been. Concerns that the crisis will only deepen as schools let out for the holidays, suspending school breakfast and lunch programs, are widespread.

“This report comes at a critical time for hungry Americans and those of us who help serve them,” added Escarra. “Our food bank members across the nation tell us that they are facing critical shortages of food because of increase demand.  There simply may be no food for many families when the rest of the nation gathers to celebrate Thanksgiving and religious holidays.”

A continued rise in food prices is also compounding the food shortage. In October, the Associated Press reported the U.S. is currently facing the highest rates of food inflation since 1990, 4.2 percent annually -- twice the rate of overall inflation. The report found that milk prices are up 18 percent since the start of the year; eggs cost 35 percent more than they did a year ago and the USDA estimates overall food price inflation will run 3 percent to 4 percent in 2008.

Strong Farm Bill is Essential for Millions
America’s Second Harvest is hopeful that some help is on the way this year in the form of a strong nutrition title in the Farm Bill. Nutrition programs funded through the Farm Bill, such as The Food Stamp Program and the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) are the first line of defense for millions of low- and fixed-income Americans. Federal funding for these programs has not kept pace with need since the passage of the last Farm Bill in 2002 and significant investments must be made to ensure that they are bolstered to reach the people that need them most. Adequately funding TEFAP at $250 million with the amount indexed for inflation in the Farm Bill this year will ensure that food banks can keep up with increasing demands for emergency food assistance.  The House passed its version of the Farm Bill in late July with $4.3 billion in new investments for federal nutrition programs, and the Senate is debating the Farm Bill this week.

Hunger is one of the most solvable problems facing the United States, yet it reaches into every community across the country. The holidays tend to amplify the problem, but the need is truly year round and millions of Americans are living day-to-day dependent on the generosity of strangers.

The America’s Second Harvest Network is committed to ending hunger in this country, but we can not do it alone. Whether you have one dollar to give or one hour to share, everyone can be a part of the solution.

About America’s Second Harvest –The Nation’s Food Bank Network
America's Second Harvest is the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through its network of more than 200 member food banks, America's Second Harvest annually provides assistance to more than 25 million people in need, including more than 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each year, America's Second Harvest secures and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products to support feeding programs at approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies, including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, and Kids Cafes.  To learn more, please visit www.secondharvest.org.     

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Contact:
Ross Fraser
312-641-6422

Michelle Valmond
312-933-7594