Good morning! Thank you so much for joining the 1 in 6 Blogathon for Feeding America, which will continue throughout the weekend. In December 2008, when Daily Kos hosted its first ever Feeding America blog-a-thon, one in eight Americans faced hunger.
The number now is 1 in 6, and this weekend, we ask for your support again.
Support does not require a donation (although all donations of any amount are welcome). What we ask is that you take any step you can to end hunger in America: we have links for both donations and activism. Both matter so very much. Please read and recommend each diary this weekend and, if you are able, make a donation to Feeding America.
Today, one in six Americans faces hunger. And for children, the number is now one in four.
Hunger Lives Near You.
There are hungry children in every county in the United States.
See a Map of Hunger Across America HERE
See a Map of Hunger Among American Children HERE
Our nation’s food banks – once an emergency resource for short-term need – are now the principal source of food for millions of hungry families, children, students and elderly. And in addition to the relentless, overwhelming need of their clients, food banks are also dealing with reduced support from the federal government as commodities speculation and drought have raised the price of many staples by as much as forty percent.
The hard pinch is nationwide.
Iowa
The high prices farmers get for their meat, produce and other crops are doing more than increasing supermarket bills.
The price increases mean the government is providing less food to soup kitchens and food pantries even as more and more people line up for assistance.
(snip)
The Food Bank of Iowa has seen its USDA food supplies drop to about 110,000 pounds a month, down from the 200,000 pounds or so that was coming in monthly in 2009 and 2010. The USDA commodities have included staples that can be stored easily, including canned juices, breakfast cereal, pasta and peanut butter. “It’s the real basic staples that families need,” said Carey Miller, the food bank’s executive director.
Iowa has set a record for the number of residents seeking some form of food assistance, including food stamps, every month for the past five years, reaching nearly 394,000 people in August, or one of every eight residents.
Des Moines Register
New Hampshire
The Thomas Aquinas Food Pantry in Derry can barely keep up with the demand for food.
"We're constantly in need of donations," outreach director Pam LaMontagne said. "We could have a huge food drive and that will last a week. The food goes off the shelf just as fast as we can put it on."
That's the case at many local food pantries, where the burden hasn't eased this fall. Over the summer, LaMontagne said, they were serving 15 to 20 people a day. This month, they've been serving about 25 people a day.
"We're very, very busy," she said. "We're seeing people who have never before had to use services come to us. People are losing their jobs and just can't keep up with the bills, with the increased cost of living."
Eagle-Tribune
Indiana
Johnny Cummins waited patiently for his number to be called at the food pantry at St. John's Episcopal Church in downtown Lafayette.
"No. 10," the volunteer yelled from the distribution window.
"That's me," Cummins responded with a grin as the Lafayette resident hurried off to get his ration of free groceries.
Ever since he lost his job a couple of months ago, Cummins has been relying on the food pantry. "If you didn't have any food services in this area, there would be a lot of people who go hungry, not just me," the 50-year-old said.
For many people, the local food pantry has become the primary means to attain food, instead of the pantries' traditional role as a remedy for emergency food shortages, according to a new study released in late September by Feeding America, a national hunger relief charity.
Journal & Courier
Washington
On Sept. 17, nearly 400 men, women and children walked door to door to collect food for the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank.
The daylong effort produced 3,000 pounds of food, a substantial amount of nonperishable items to assist those in need at a time when inventory was critically low.
"We were told that need had risen by nearly 50 percent," said Robert Johnson, president of the Bellevue South Stake that encompasses 10 Latter-day Saints congregations on the Eastside, and three in the Issaquah area. "We had to do something."
Issaquah Press
West Virginia
The Mountaineer Food Bank supplies 580 feeding programs in 48 counties with non-perishable food items to keep their shelves stocked.
"We distribute to food pantries, soup kitchens, any type of emergency feeding program in the area," said Mountaineer Food Banks Resource coordinator Chad Morrison.
Officials say the amount of food they've distributed each year has tripled since 2007.
(snip)
"Even though we're distributing a lot more than what we used to, they're still asking for more, so the need is much greater than what we're able to satisfy at the moment," said Morrison.
WDTV
Pennsylvania
Sunday’s second annual Fill the Food Banks Concert drew more than 200 people, who donated two pickup trucks full of food and $1,000 for local food banks during the afternoon at Red Run Park.
Sponsored by Sen. Richard Alloway II and Washington Township, the concert draws attention to local hunger and asks those attending to bring donations of food or money for local food banks. The use of local food banks has risen dramatically in the past three years, and all food donated during the concert is appreciated.
(snip)
Jane Birt, director of Waynesboro Human Services, added that food needs have greatly increased.
"Our food assistance has more than doubled from three years ago," Birt said.
Record-Herald
Oregon
For the first time, agencies distributed more than a million emergency food boxes in a year across Oregon and Southwest Washington as unemployment and poverty forced people to soup kitchens.
Food-box distribution climbed 12 percent during the year ended June 30, resuming growth after slowing the year before.
"I have never seen the demand for emergency food this high," said Rachel Bristol, chief executive of Oregon Food Bank, a statewide network of food banks.
Oregon Live
(Note: These are just some of the stories about hunger and food banks that were published this past week.)
Why we join with Feeding America.
Through the assistance of local and national food assistance programs, Feeding America is able to provide nutritious, fresh foods to Americans struggling with hunger; safe and nurturing places for children to have a meal; emergency assistance for disaster victims; as well as a chance at self-sufficiency for adults trying to break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
Feeding America
Feeding America locates food surplus and intercepts it on its way to the trash and distributes it to food banks all over the country. They do not buy most of their food, which is why they can provide meals so efficiently. They collect from vendors, grocery stores, and restaurants all over the country. Plenty of food is out there -- the problem is one of logistics, transportation, and distribution.
Because Feeding America redistributes surplus, they can provide healthy meals cheaply. Ninety five cents on every dollar that you donate here goes to food distribution. Donating to Feeding America is one of the most efficient ways that you can help aid hungry people.
Even $1 will help. Click on the icon above.
If you have the means, please donate to Feeding America by clicking on the box to the right. In addition to supplying food banks all over the country, they help hungry kids through their Backpack Program, Kids Cafe, Summer Food, and School Pantry programs. And this month, Ameriprise Financial will match your donation -- which means that each dollar you donate will provide 16 meals to hungry people.
Donate By Mail Here.
Feeding America is a strong advocate for ending hunger in the United States.
Sign Up to Advocate Here.
Please read and recommend these diaries:
All times Eastern!
Saturday, Oct 15:
9:00a -- noweasels
12:00p -- teacherken
3:00p -- TheFatLadySings
6:00p -- Timroff
9:00p -- JayinPortland
Owls -- blue jersey mom
Sunday, Oct 16
9:00a -- rb137
12:00p -- JanF
3:00p -- Aji
5:00p -- Patric Juillet
7:00p -- Chacounne
10:00p -- boatsie
Thank you all, so very much.
Special blessings to our own rb137 who organized this great effort, and to all the amazing diarists participating this weekend.