Stories of the new hungry are flooding food banks across the country. You have more and more people who have college degrees, who have become unemployed or underemployed.
Come Christmas dinner, Rolanda McCarty of Lawrenceville, Georgia , a 36-year-old single mother, usually goes all out. Her table last year featured a rosemary-and-oil rubbed turkey and a sweet ham. She prepared fresh collard greens according to her grandmother's recipe. The dessert -- a rich butter pound cake -- was made from scratch.
But after being laid off from her technical recruiting job in January because of the struggling economy, there will be no fancy holiday feast, no family members pouring into her downsized one-bedroom apartment. She will rely on what she has: canned vegetables and microwavable meals from her community food bank.
"It was a little bit embarrassing," said McCarty of accessing the food pantry at the Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry for the first time last month. "But you know, I have to do what I have to do to survive."
--Ross Fraser, spokesman for Feeding America
In Los Angeles, a teacher who lost an after-school coaching job because of school budget cuts found the pay reduction was too much. He turned to a food pantry to support his children, Fraser said.
A working professional in New York, who lost his job earlier this year, believed his eight months of emergency funds would be sufficient until he found a job. When his funds dwindled faster than expected, he sought handouts at a food bank, a food bank worker said.
Feeding America said 36 percent of the people who get food from its soup kitchens and pantries have at least one employed person in their household. While rural and urban areas continue to require the most assistance, several food bank workers say the need in suburban areas has risen more quickly.
"The recession may technically be over according to the economists, but the people who run our food pantry soup kitchens or shelters, they aren't seeing it or feeling it," said Stacy Wong, a spokeswoman at The Greater Boston Food Bank. Wong said the agency has served 545,200 people in 2010. In 2006, it served 417,950 people.
Food bank workers point out those who are are unemployed must worry about whether their benefits will expire. And, the winter school holidays add to the woes of families in financial despair. Many parents will need to find alternative ways to provide breakfasts and lunches.
Food banks said they are quickly stocking their shelves for the many newcomers they expect.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/12/13/food....
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Monday, December 13th 2010 at 5:12PM
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