Food Pantries Turning People Away as Demand Doubles
Food pantries are seeing a growing tide of people they've never before had to assist, many of whom work full-time jobs. The poverty in America that this crisis reveals is a national disgrace.

From the New York Times, we hear today that food pantries in Connecticut are turning the hungry away: Amid this holiday season, food pantries in lower Connecticut are reporting a surge in the number of residents seeking a decent meal. ... "I have had to turn people away," said Joyce Gumbus, who oversees the 164 Wilson Memorial Food Pantry in Stamford. The pantry is providing groceries for up to 400 people a week, compared with 200 a week last year, Ms. Gumbus said. ... For the Food Bank, the clearinghouse for some of the pantries’ food, that translates into some difficult challenges, like providing Thanksgiving turkeys for 6,000 families this year, versus 3,000 in 2006. It means handling about 500 tons of food annually, 161,000 pounds of which were distributed in November alone, Ms. Lombardo said. "The need has doubled in the last year," she said. "And we don’t expect it to get better anytime soon." And on Long Island, there are fears that donations are not adequately keeping up with the spike in demand: Long Island Cares / the Harry Chapin Food Bank and Island Harvest, a food rescue group, are reporting a 42 percent increase in demand for food over last year among some of the nearly 800 nonprofit community groups they serve. ... Nearly half of emergency food aid recipients on Long Island come from households with at least one employed adult, according to a 2006 study by America's Second Harvest Network. More than half are women. And donations are not keeping pace with need. Island Harvest is predicting a food shortage of more than 195,000 meals by year's end. It's not just the New York area. Its the same all over.

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