Hunger strikes even rich U.S. counties, By Marisol Bello, April 13, 2015, USA Today: “Loudoun County in Virginia is made up of one of the wealthiest communities in the USA. But it’s also where Barbara Diaz, a nanny, struggles to feed her family of eight. While the median income in the county stands at $122,000 a year, Diaz, 55, makes about $21,600 a year as a nanny. With her salary, she has to feed her family and pay rent, car insurance and utilities. Often, she doesn’t have enough at the end of the month for food, so she turns regularly to her local food pantry for help. Diaz and her family are among the 46 million Americans who have a meal gap, in which they can’t afford to pay for three meals a day, according to a new report titled ‘Map the Meal Gap’ by Feeding America, a network of 200 food banks nationwide. The food banks provide food to pantries…”
Tag: Hunger
Food Insecurity in the U.S.
America’s real hunger game: 50 million in crisis, By Steve James, December 12, 2014, NBC News: “In the richest country in the world, nearly 1 in 6 Americans go to bed hungry. As the holiday season of giving approaches, the slow recovery from the 2008 recession and cuts in the government’s anti-hunger programs have only put more children and seniors at risk, advocates for the poor and hungry say. Corporations are finding more creative ways to help fight the scourge, but the number of hungry has risen, percolating up into the middle class and sparking fears for the welfare of aging baby boomers…”
Homelessness and Hunger in U.S. Cities
- Survey finds acute homelessness in Boston, By Katie Johnston, December 11, 2014, Boston Globe: “More Boston residents are living in emergency shelters than in any of 25 major cities surveyed nationwide, according to a report released Thursday by the US Conference of Mayors. The survey provided a detailed snapshot of Boston’s homeless population, including the revelation that a quarter of the city’s homeless adults have jobs. In Trenton, N.J., by comparison, only 4 percent are employed. Still, these jobs don’t pay enough to put a roof over their heads…”
- U.S. mayors fear hunger, homelessness will rise under GOP Congress, By Christopher Smart, December 11, 2014, Salt Lake Tribune: “City officials who deal with poverty at street level every day across America are bracing for potential cuts in social programs as a Republican-dominated Congress takes over next month. A new report on hunger and homelessness underscores those concerns, painting a grim picture of life on the lower rungs of the economic ladder — despite a recovering economy. Although progress has been made on some fronts, city leaders fear food stamps could be pared back and worry that federal funding for housing might not keep pace with rising costs…”
- Major cities, including Cleveland, expect ongoing issues over hunger and homelessness, study says, By Roxanne Washington, December 12, 2014, Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Requests for emergency food is expected to increase over the next year in several metropolitan areas, while meeting those needs could continue to fall short, says a task force of some U.S. cities, including Cleveland. The findings are from the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors Status on Hunger and Homelessness report released Thursday. Twenty-five cities with populations of 30,000 or more were surveyed…”