Hunger in America 2006: The Facts & The Faces

Many never imagined they would seek food assistance and none should need to do so, but barren cupboards and empty pockets lead more than 28,000 of our Central New York neighbors to local food pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency shelters every week.

The recession at the beginning of this decade and recent disasters from hurricanes on the Gulf Coast have led to even greater challenges for low-income people.  Hunger, poverty, economic insecurity, and unequal opportunity continue to be profound problems in this country.  Poverty is on the rise, income inequality and the number of individuals without health insurance are at record levels, and USDA recently showed the fifth consecutive increase in U.S. households who suffer from hunger or struggle at the brink of hunger ("food insecure").  In New York alone, this represents close to 770,000 households struggling to find enough to eat...

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