Food banks across the country are bracing for their annual holiday rush: a spike in demand as millions of Americans struggle to put holiday meals on their tables. Many food banks hold extra food drives, or ask companies to make special seasonal donations – turkeys, for example. Others food banks just buy more food; one reported buying 50% percent more in November compared to October. The cut in SNAP benefits will only increase the demand. SNAP enrollment is almost three times what it was in 2000, but that hasn’t lessened the dependence on food banks. Since 2006, the number of Americans receiving aid from food pantries is up almost 50%, according to Feeding America. But even the most robust food banks aren’t able to fill the need, a fact that was true even before the recent SNAP cuts. By Feeding America’s estimate, the benefit cuts will cost 1.9 million meals for low-income Americans next year—more than half the number of meals the organization distributes in a given year.
Source: Stateline, 11/26/13, Food Banks
As many celebrate the holidays with bountiful meals with family and friends, many other Americans lack the resources to meet their basic food needs. More than 17 million households, containing 49 million people, were “food insecure” last year, and millions more would lack access to adequate food if not for SNAP. Four in five SNAP recipients either work or cannot work because they are children, seniors, or have disabilities. Children alone make up nearly half of SNAP recipients. Four in five SNAP recipients have gross incomes below the poverty line, which is about $23,500 for a family of four and $11,500 for a single person living alone, such as an elderly widow. Two in five SNAP households have incomes below half of the poverty line.
Source: Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 11/26/13, Holidays
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