![]() ![]() "We have been spending about a million dollars each week to source food above and beyond what our normal efforts would be," says Stephany of the Oregon Food Bank's efforts. "I've been really surprised by how generous and resilient Americans are." -Glen Curado, founder and CEO, World Harvest Food BankĪs a result, food banks and other organizations have been contorting themselves to meet unprecedented demand-and make their efforts sustainable in the long run. In fact, the United Nations estimates that the pandemic will force 83 to 132 million people around the globe into hunger by the end of the year. ![]() With the stimulus programs having expired on the first of August-and the pandemic still wreaking havoc on the job market-food insecurity is expected to rise further still. (It's worth noting that these benefits did little to help undocumented Americans, of which there are millions.) The number of food insecure households-meaning homes without consistent, reliable access to enough food-doubled in April from 11 percent to an estimated 22 to 38 percent. This massive need for food has occurred despite the benefits provided by the $2 trillion CARES Act passed back in March, which included expanded unemployment and SNAP benefits, funding for food banks, eviction moratoriums, and more. The Houston Food Bank, meanwhile, has seen a 130 to 150 percent increase in demand, which amounts to 2.75 million people, according to spokesperson Maggi Massad-Paradeis. Stephany, director of strategic communications for Oregon Food Bank, calls the pandemic "the worst hunger and food insecurity that we've seen in a generation," and notes that his organization has gone from serving 860,000 people in a year to a projected one to two million in the same span of time. "Our food bank's been around 35 years, and we've never seen an increase in need like this," says Michael Altfest, director of community engagement and marketing at Alameda County Community Food Bank in Oakland, California. And there are few places where the urgency of our current situation manifests more clearly than at America's food banks, aka non-profits that store food to be distributed to food pantries and kitchens. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a massive strain on most people's lives around the world thanks to layoffs, pay cuts, and more-leaving millions of Americans unemployed and struggling to make ends meet. ![]()
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