Goin Hungry

More Americans Can't Afford Food

Social Issues – While most of us are whining about not being able to afford gas, there are millions of Americans struggling to put food on the table. The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), a nonprofit research group, found that about 18.6% of people, or 1 out of 5 people said they couldn’t always afford to feed everyone in their family in 2011.

In 2010, the largest number of Americans ever were living below the poverty line according to the Census Bureau. Although unemployment numbers are going down, the number of people who cannot afford to buy food continues on an upward trend.

A different study from the nonprofit Wider Opportunities for Women found that nearly half of all Americans lack financial stability and can barely afford the basics like shelter, transportation, and food. Not to mention that the cost of food has grown by leaps and bounds over the years leaving people to spend more of their paycheck on food than ever before.

Americans are turning to food banks and pantries for their needs, but even these charities are having trouble keeping up. FRAC notes that the money being spent to keep food pantries stocked is in the billions.

To read more, visit the Huffington Post here and here.