BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE
One in eight Americans worried last year about where their next meal would come from, and experts say that rate is rising.
National reports released Monday and last week show hunger staying relatively stable in 2007. But those statistics came before the economy took a nosedive this year.
Those who work on the front lines of area feeding programs have already experienced increased demand.
The Fredericksburg Area Food Bank, for example, served 7,000 more people in the first 10 months of this year than in all of last year.
Area food pantries, mostly run by churches and nonprofit groups, report helping nearly three times as many people as last year.
Some have recently served 50 families in two hours. And they all report shortages on their shelves.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its annual hunger report last week. Virginia fared well, one of few states showing a decline in hungry people in 2007.
But 2008 isn't on track to be so rosy for Virginians. Some 55,000 more people received food aid from state departments of social services in October 2008 compared with October 2007.
And church volunteers have seen sharp increases in attendance at community dinners, which serve those in need.
Last summer, Fredericksburg Baptist Church served about 175 people at its Thursday-night spaghetti dinners. This year, as many as 500 stop by. And for the first time ever, the church ran out of food before the end of dinner last month.
Other community dinners have more than doubled in diners, and churches have learned to keep extra food in freezers to avoid turning people away.
"First, people are hit with the high gasoline prices, then as you go to the grocery store, prices rise higher and higher and higher," said Oya Oliver, director of the nonprofit area food bank.
As prices rose, she said, many then lost their jobs and their houses. The "perfect storm"--as many social service agency directors call this financial crisis--drew many new people to seek help.
"You see some people come in, and they're crying their eyes out because they've never in their lives had to do something like this," Oliver said. "It just tears down their pride and their self esteem."
Amy Flowers Umble: 540/735-1973
Email: aumble@freelancestar.com
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4.1 percent: Americans who go without food because they lack money. 323,000: American families with children who go without food. 21 percent: Those who struggle to afford food who visit a food pantry. 582,494: Virginians who received food stamps in October 2008. 2,774: People in Fredericksburg who received food stamps in October 2008. 54,588: Increase in Virginians on food stamps, October 2007 to October 2008. 33,404: People who used the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank as of October. 26,000: People who used the food bank in 2007. 1 in 2: American babies who receive aid through Women, Infants and Children. 1 in 6: Children in America who live on the brink of hunger. 30 million: Number of Americans who receive food stamps.--The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bread for the World, the Virginia Department of Social Services and the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank need help? |
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For details on area charities, call 211, the Rappahannock United Way's information line.
Among the organizations The Fredericksburg Area Food Bank, 540/371-7666. Fredericksburg Corps Bragg Hill Family Life Center runs a food pantry, weekdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Storehouse Ministries runs SERVE offers a food pantry Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., 540/288-9603. Community dinners are held Thursdays at Fredericksburg Baptist Church, alternating Saturdays at Fredericksburg United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburg, and Sundays Breakfast is available weekdays, 9:30-11:30, at Micah Ecumenical Ministries' day center on Princess Anne Street, 540/479-4116. |