Food banks across the country are serving a record number of people, and many agencies are struggling to meet the demand ahead of Thanksgiving. In Texas, the Montgomery County Food Bank served a record 31,000 people last month. The Washington Post reports the demand for meals at the Arlington Food Assistance Center in Virginia has jumped 50 percent in the past two years. In the Washington, D.C. area, the Capital Area Food Bank is on pace to distribute a record 30 million pounds of food this year, an increase of more than 10 percent since 2009. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of families seeking assistance from food pantries jumped from 3.9 million in 2007 to 5.6 million last year. The number of U.S. households deemed “food insecure” also exceeded 50 million last year, amounting to a record 14.7 percent.
Food Banks Struggle to Feed Growing Number of Hungry Americans
HeadlineNov 23, 2010