The face of hunger is changing to match the person next to you on the bus, according to Lynn Brantley, CEO of Capital Area Food Bank, the primary Feeding America (FA) affiliate in the metro area, serving 478,100 people a year through 700 partners. Since the last study conducted in 2006, 19,000 more clients have begun to go to the local providers.
A new study shows that only 9.9 per-cent of FA clients are homeless, with more than a third of client households having one or more adults employed.
“These are people that you see on the bus, every day, who are struggling to put food on their tables,” Brantley said.
Nationwide, there has been an upswing in pantry, food kitchen and shelter clients by 46 percent.
Food insecurity is the lack of knowing if you will be able to provide food for yourself and your family. In this process, one often does ‘trade-offs,’ sacrificing food for rent, utilities, or transportation, according to James Mabli, primary author of the report.
“I would have liked more questions about the struggles people are facing trying to meet their expenses,” Mabli said, adding that when the survey was developed, the housing crisis had only just begun and the questions did not necessarily capture all the surrounding circumstances.
Approximately 46 percent of all client households had to choose between food and utilities at least once, while 39 percent had to choose between food and rent.
Brantley attributes both the increase in clients and the trade-offs to the economic downturn.
“The American dream is changing dramatically,” she said. “People are losing their homes, their jobs, and the disappearance of the manufacturing base.”
According to the specialized report for the D.C. area, 56 percent of households have a working adult, and one in three households had children that could not eat because of finances.
“I’ve been working on hunger issues for 37 years, and I’ve never seen a time quite like now,” Brantley said.
Surveys such as these, according to Mabli, serve to guide public policy, being used by food banks to “push for funding” and inspire donations of equipment and stir up support.
The report is not meant to be read, he said, “it’s more of a cookbook,” through which to flip to the wanted section.
Food banks across the nation each received specialized reports suited to their area, and although the Capital Area Food Bank has seen an increase, Brantley points to food banks in Ohio and Indiana that have been “hit much harder.”
Every food bank is under pressure, she said.
“Food giving is up about 30 percent, but it’s going out at a much faster pace than it’s coming in.”
Both Mabli and Brantley credit much to volunteers, who staff a majority of the emergency food providers and who did the legwork for the survey.
It was the agencies’ responsibilities to provide the volunteers, Mabli said. “A lot made it their full-time gig.”
For the providers, Brantley said volunteering is what keeps things running. The majority of pantries in the D.C. are entirely volunteer-run, and a significant minority of shelters and kitchens. However, she emphasized, there was more to it than just hunger.
“Food is just what brings them to the door, but there’s a care and love that comes with that.”
