Michael Snyder – December 2, 2020
There are approximately 74 million children in the United States, and right now millions upon millions of them do not have enough to eat. The economic collapse that has started in 2020 has been brutal for most of the nation, but it has hit children particularly hard. If their parents lose their jobs, there is nothing that they can do except hope that government handouts and the kindness of others will be enough. Unfortunately, way too often they are not enough, and at this point Feeding America is projecting that one out of every four children in America could suffer from hunger by the end of this calendar year…
By the end of this year, more than 50 million people could experience food insecurity, according to Feeding America, the country’s largest hunger-relief organization. That’s one in six Americans and one in four children—nearly a 50 percent increase from 2019. A Northwestern University study in June found that food needs had doubled nationally, and tripled for households with children. The pandemic has laid bare how many people are one paycheck or medical bill away from hunger.
Prior to the pandemic, more than 20 million children were at least getting free or reduced price lunches at school. When lockdowns force the closing of schools, that just makes the hunger crisis even worse…
“There are 22 million children who even before this pandemic relied upon free and reduced lunch,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, the CEO of Feeding America. “When you hear that schools are closed, not only does that mean that there are challenges for children with an education, but it also means lost meals.”
The good news is that the U.S. has a vast network of food banks all over the country, and they have been able to help more people than ever this year.
According to Feeding America, their food banks have “seen a 60 percent increase in demand” compared to last year.
But the bad news is that there simply is not going to be enough food if demand continues to soar in the months ahead.