Number of people turning to food banks triples in a year, By Patrick Butler, April 23, 2013, The Guardian: “More than 350,000 people turned to food banks for help last year, almost triple the number who received food aid in the previous year and 100,000 more than anticipated, according to the UK’s biggest food crisis charity. The Trussell Trust said the dramatic increase in the use of its food banks was set to continue in the coming months as poorer families struggle financially as a result of the government’s welfare reforms…”
Tag: Food pantries
Services Provided by Food Banks
Food banks expand beyond hunger, By Phyllis Korkki, November 8, 2012, New York Times: “For the recent East Coast hurricane, as in other emergencies, food banks were on the front lines with food, bottled water and cleaning supplies. They have long held sway in the public consciousness as providers of nonperishables. But in fact, holding food drives and handing out cans of soup and tuna make up only a small part of what food banks do over the course of a year. Count the timely provision of fresh produce and nutrition education as among their newer core duties. For millions of people, food banks have become more than a stopgap measure; rather, they are a chronic coping strategy, said Maura Daly, chief communication and development officer at Feeding America, the umbrella organization for the nation’s 200-plus food banks…”
Children and Food Insecurity
- End of school means days of hunger for some local kids, By James Fuller, June 6, 2012, Daily Herald: “‘No more pencils, no more books’ is part of the familiar school’s-out-for-summer chant. But when classrooms close for the summer, so do school cafeterias and their free and reduced lunch and breakfast programs. For thousands of area children, that means a harsh summer lesson about hunger and improper nutrition. A study by Feeding America, a hunger relief charity, shows there are more than 400,000 children in Cook and the collar counties who spend at least some time hungry or not receiving proper nutrition. One in five children in the 13 northern Illinois counties face hunger on a regular basis. Northern Illinois Food Bank officials say that problem becomes more acute in the summer months when school food is not a guaranteed part of a child’s day…”
- Nearly one in five Northland children classified ‘food insecure’, By John Lundy, June 5, 2012, Duluth News Tribune: “One out of every five Douglas County children doesn’t get enough food to support an active, healthy lifestyle, a report released on Monday said. Nationwide, one of every four children is ‘food insecure’ in more than 1,000 counties, said the study by Feeding America, a nonprofit focused on domestic hunger relief. Although the numbers aren’t that dire in the Northland, the study still shows that 18.6 percent of children in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin are food insecure, according to a news release on Tuesday from Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank. That includes 20.6 percent in Douglas County and 18.2 percent – 6,990 children – in St. Louis County…”
- 1 in 4 children at hunger risk, report says, By Gary Scharrer and Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje, June 5, 2012, San Antonio Express-News: “More than one in four Texas children, or 27.1 percent, were at risk of going hungry in 2010, according to the report released Monday by Feeding America. More than 118,000 Bexar County children, 26.8 percent, live in food insecure households, the report found. Texas lawmakers must involve entire communities to end childhood hunger, said Bee Moorhead of the interfaith group Texas Impact…”