For 38 Millions Americans, Thanksgiving is a Struggle
America’s Second Harvest Network helps set a place for everyone at the table
CHICAGO --- November 23, 2005 --- With Thanksgiving now upon us, families across the country are gathering together to count blessings and share in the joy that comes with a bountiful feast. But for the thousands of our neighbors who rely on the services provided by food banks and food rescue organizations in the America’s Second Harvest Network, it’s just another Thursday in the struggle to put food on the table.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released a study showing 38.2 million Americans—including 13.8 million children—are food insecure. Though more than 2 million more people were food insecure in 2004 compared to 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives last Friday cut the Food Stamp Program in an effort to reduce the federal deficit, leaving more than 220,000 Americans in search of a meal over the next five years.
“For so many of us, knowing where our next meal is coming from is not something we worry about,” said Robert Forney, President and CEO of America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network. “This holiday season it is more important than ever to remember the growing number of people in this country who don’t have consistent access to food and find a way to help them.”
More than 200 food banks and food-rescue organizations in the America’s Second Harvest Network are involved with local holiday feeding programs and fund-and-food drives. The America’s Second Harvest Network provides food and grocery products reaching more than 50,000 agencies and 23 million people nationally each year. “From coast to coast, the America’s Second Harvest Network is helping to make sure that Thanksgiving is an enjoyable holiday for everyone – both the have’s and have not’s,” said Forney.
The number of Americans experiencing food insecurity has been on the rise for five straight years with an 11.9 percent increase in 2004 compared to 2003. Rates of hunger and food insecurity increased in nearly all parts of the country, and single female-headed households with children continued to have substantially higher rates of food insecurity than all other household types. Furthermore, the USDA study shows the number of people living in food insecure households with hunger rose from 3.5 percent in 2003 to 3.9 percent in 2004—accounting for 4.4 million households, including 274,000 households with children.
Food insecure households are those that are not able to access enough food to meet basic nutritional requirements. Hungry households are those in which one or more household members experienced hunger due to lack of financial resources in the past year.
For more information on the USDA’s “Household Food Security in the United States, 2004” please visit www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err11 .
America's Second Harvest — The Nation's Food Bank Network is largest charitable hunger-relief organization in the country, with a Network of more than 200 Member food banks and food-rescue organizations serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The Network secures and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually; and supports approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies operating more than 94,000 programs including after-school programs, emergency shelters, food pantries, Kids Cafes and soup kitchens. Last year, the Network provided food assistance to more than 23 million hungry people in the United States, including more than 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors. For more information on the America's Second Harvest Network, please visit www.secondharvest.org .
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Contact:
PHIL ZEPEDA
Office: 312.263.2303 x
184
Cell: 312.622.2640
