G.O.O.D

Source: scienceblogs.com

One thing that the Thanksgiving Holidays has made clear: America, the land of plenty where holiday overeating is celebrated as a social good, is suffering from a food availability crisis. The Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture describes a range of food security categories, ranging from “food secure,” which includes high food security and marginal food security, and “food insecure,” which includes low food security and very low food security. Households whose food security was classified as either “low” or “very low” did not have enough money to purchase an adequate supply of food at least some of the time — and their numbers are increasing dramatically, as anyone who works at or depends upon a food bank or soup kitchen will tell you.

Across the country, more people are appearing at their local food banks and soup kitchens as they struggle to afford enough to eat. For example, the New York City Coalition Against Hunger’s (NYCCAH) Annual Hunger Survey reports that emergency food providers are serving 28% more people in 2008 than they had last year. But sadly, as New York City food banks point out, donations are down this holiday season just as the faltering economy has increased the need for their services.

“More people are unemployed. People are more desperate for food and scared that it will run out. We have people lining up for food two hours before we begin pantry distribution,” reports Christina Baal, Director of Immigrant and Family Services at Cabrini Immigrant Services.

This decline in food availability has caused NYC food banks and pantries to cut back on the amount and variety of food provided to the hungry and their total food supplies for the week are distributed within a few minutes instead of within an hour or longer. Worse, many pantries have been forced to open less frequently and to close earlier, and several dozen food banks in NYC have permanently closed their doors.

“We can’t nibble around this problem. Hunger is becoming a full blown crisis for our City, and our current economic downturn is only going to make it harder for thousands of New Yorkers to feed themselves and their families,” said Councilmember Bill de Blasio, Chair of the General Welfare Committee.

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