Fighting Hunger…
Food is a basic human need that must be met.  No man, woman, or child should have to worry about how they will get their next meal.  Sadly, though, there are too many of us who face hunger each day of the week.  Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States are hungry and food-insecure right now. 

How We Work…
Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest)- The Nation’s Food Bank Network- establishes and develops partnerships with growers, processors, retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers, restaurants… and encourages them to donate, not dump.  We move the food and groceries to where they are needed most.  Feeding America ensures safe storage and distributes groceries to charities in the service areas where member food banks are located.  Donations are given to people in need at food pantries, soup kitchens, Kids Cafes, senior centers, homeless shelters, community kitchens, and youth programs.

Forty percent of the households seeking emergency food assistance from the national food bank network have at least one adult working.
     - Feeding America, Hunger in America, 2006

Who Is Hungry?
Senior citizens, children, the homeless, the unemployed, and the disabled are generally associated with the issue of hunger in America.  There is also another growing segment of the population that is struggling with hunger each day- the working poor.  These individuals maintain regular employment, but their pay falls well below the national poverty level.  Most of the working poor graduated from high school, and some from college.  The harsh reality is that hunger is a problem in our country.  The good news is that it has a cure.

Statistics

• 37.3 million people living in the United States are living in poverty.
• 13.3 million are children, and 3.6 million are senior citizens (age 65 and over)
• Hunger, even with emergency response systems in place, persists: 17 percent of people in need of emergency food assistance are not receiving the necessary help.
• On the first day of school in this country, children experiencing hunger had already fallen behind their classmates.
• Many children complain about “losing their freedom” when summer break is over or other school holidays come to an end.  For those unfortunate children who face food insecurity on a daily basis, school is the only place where they are guaranteed a meal.  They long to stay in school.