Feeding America one Family at a Time

I didn't mean to. If I had my way it wouldn't have happened. I left before daylight today to get here to the foodbank. I spent almost 30 years building a career that allowed me to start at a bright and early 9:30 or 10:00 am. that way I could sleep. Although I worked a lot until midnight or after, and occasionally at 5:30 or 6:00am I would get a phone call for help, usually I could sleep late. Now after 3 strokes, I help my wife here and get up early. I always thought it should be the other way around.... Oh well............


Hey, we gave out in another county, 430+ families there with well over 100 of the kids foods. TANF (Tempory Aid for Needy Families) is what it is called. We have a large one this week as well. It will be over 500 and closer to 600 Families. Feeding America, the nations largest domestic hunger relief organization, and who we are a part of, says that 1 in 6 Americans struggle with hunger. One can witness this at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Tx, where men, women and children gather at the door on the first and thursdays of each month, that are not looking for God, they're looking for something to eat. Janet Drane, their volunteer Manager said they've had a food pantry for 25 years, and while it's been small, it has lately went from 10 families to 25 families. Lucia Russet at the advocy for Little Sisters of the Assumption Families Health Service in east Harlem, NY serves about 450 families per month. The USDA says this hunger is a big problem. 49 Million Americans are unsure of where they will find their next meal, which includes 17 million children, and 2.3 million seniors. What is surprising is that 36% live in households where at least 1 adult is working. "It used to be that one job was all you needed. The people we see now have 3 and 4 part time jobs and they're still on the edge financially." says St. Andrew's Drane. Vicki Escarra of Feeding America says 'This isn't just a poor person issue. Middle Americas, people with jobs, are having a tough time feeding their families.'



Some demographics:

Age of Clients that are Hungry:

0-5  9%
6-17 29%
18-64 55%
65+ 8%

Racial Background:

White 40%
Black 34%
Hispanic 21%
Other 9%

A good portion of the above is from http://www.time.com/.

More after we do the next county. It's hungry out there folks.

Thanks, Mark.