BBC: New York hunger levels 'rising'

Last Updated: Wednesday, 21 November 2007, 23:55 GMT
BBC: New York hunger levels 'rising'

Over 1.3 million people, one in six New Yorkers, cannot afford enough food, with queues at soup kitchens getting longer, anti-poverty groups say.

The New York City Coalition Against Hunger says the number of people who use food pantries and soup kitchens in the city increased by 20% in 2007.

Some of the food distribution points are struggling to meet demand.

The coalition blames the situation mainly on increased poverty as well as government cutbacks in food aid.

No Thanksgiving turkey

"This annual survey of food pantries and soup kitchens shows that more working families, children, and seniors are being forced to seek emergency food," Joel Berg, the coalition's executive director, said in a statement.

"Given that hunger continued to increase in the city, even when the economy was still strong last year, it is no wonder that now, when the economy is weakening, lines at pantries and kitchens are getting even worse."

Some food outlets said they would not be able to distribute turkey rations for Thanksgiving on Thursday, because their federal supplies of food had been cut by as much as three-quarters.

Food Bank, a non-profit organisation which distributes food to about 1,000 pantries, said its shelves were half full compared with usual levels.

According to a survey, 59% of New York's food programmes, up from 48% last year, said they did not have enough resources to meet demand.

The US Department of Agriculture says 12.6 million households nationwide, or more than 30 million people - 10% of the population - did not have enough food at some point in 2006.

It's always sad when people can't afford food, one of the most basic necessities of life. It's a sad state of affairs when these people are in one of the richest countries in the world, and where some of the most extravagant people in the world live.

I suppose this is why I supported a child for my birthday: www.worldvision.org. Not every bit of your dollar donated goes to the child, but when an organization has people depending on it, there's no other way to do it than to run it like a business, where you hire full-time workers and have to give them benefits too. It's high-impact, dependable and continuous, and there's a lot to be said for that.