Posted on 08/16/2015 5:07:46 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Those that run food banks all over America say that demand for their services just continues to explode. It always amazes me that there are still people out there that insist that an “economic collapse” is not happening. From their air-conditioned homes in their cushy suburban neighborhoods they mock the idea that the U.S. economy is crumbling. But if they would just go down and visit the local food banks in their areas, they would see how much people are hurting. According to Feeding America spokesman Ross Fraser, 46 million Americans got food from a food bank at least one time during 2014. Because the demand has become so overwhelming, some food banks are cutting back on the number of days they operate and the amount of food that is given to each family. As you will see below, many impoverished Americans are lining up at food banks as early as 6:30 in the morning just so that they can be sure to get something before the food runs out. And yet there are still many people out there that have the audacity to say that everything is just fine in America. Shame on them for ignoring the pain of millions upon millions of their fellow citizens.
Poverty in America is getting worse, not better. And no amount of spin from Barack Obama or his apologists can change that fact.
This year, it is being projected that food banks in the United States will give away an all-time record 4 billion pounds of food.
Over the past decade, that number has more than doubled.
And that number would be even higher if food banks had more food to give away. The demand has become so crushing that some food banks have actually reduced the amount of food each family gets…
Food banks across the country are seeing a rising demand for free groceries despite the growing economy, leading some charities to reduce the amount of food they offer each family.
Those in need are starting to realize what is going on, so they are getting to the food banks earlier and earlier. For example, one food bank in New Mexico is now getting long lines of people every single day starting at 6:30 in the morning…
“We get lines of people every day, starting at 6:30 in the morning,” said Sheila Moore, who oversees food distribution at The Storehouse, the largest pantry in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and one where food distribution has climbed 15 percent in the past year.
Does that sound like an “economic recovery” to you?
Just because your family doesn’t have to stand in line for food does not mean that everything is okay in America.
The same thing that is happening in New Mexico is also happening in Ohio. Needy people are standing in line at the crack of dawn so that they can be sure to get something “before the food runs out”…
Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Food Banks, who has been working in food charities since the 1980s, said that when earlier economic downturns ended, food demand declined, but not this time.
“People keep coming earlier and earlier, they’re standing in line, hoping they get there before the food runs out,” Hamler-Fugitt said.
And keep in mind that we are just now entering the next global financial crisis and the next major recession.
So how bad will things be when millions more Americans lose their jobs and millions more Americans lose their homes?
Rising poverty is also reflected in the number of Americans on food stamps. The following graph was posted by the Economic Policy Journal, and it shows how food stamp use has absolutely exploded in the five most populated states…
I don’t see an “economic recovery” in that graph, do you?
Instead, what it shows is that the number of Americans on food stamps continued to rise for years even after the recession ended.
Sadly, things are only going to get worse from here. Eventually, the kinds of things that we are seeing happen in places such as Venezuela will be coming here as well. At this point, young mothers in Venezuela are sleeping outside of empty supermarkets at night in a desperate attempt to get something for their families when morning arrives…
As dawn breaks over the scorching Venezuelan city of Maracaibo, smugglers, young mothers and a handful of kids stir outside a supermarket where they spent the night, hoping to be first in line for scarce rice, milk or whatever may be available.
Some of the people in line are half-asleep on flattened cardboard boxes, others are drinking coffee.
Most Americans cannot identify with this level of suffering, but it is coming to our country someday too. Here is more from Reuters…
“I can’t get milk for my child. What are we going to do?” said Leida Silva, 54, breaking into tears outside the Latino supermarket in northern Maracaibo where she arrived at 3 a.m. on a recent day.
Just a couple of days ago, I wrote about how the number of Americans living in concentrated areas of high poverty has doubled since the year 2000.
In case you are wondering, that is not a sign of progress.
Just because you might live in a comfortable neighborhood that does not give you the right to look down on those that are suffering.
And when you add increasing racial tensions to the mix, it becomes easier to understand why there is so much anger and frustration in our urban areas. According to Business Insider, the percentage of Americans that consider race relations to be in good shape in this nation has dropped precipitously…
Over the last two years there has been a 23% drop in the number of Americans who see relations between blacks and whites as “very good” or “somewhat good.”
Today, only 47% of Americans see black-white relations positively, according to a Gallup poll, the lowest it has been in the last 14 years.
The poll also showed that blacks see the relations more positively (51%) than whites (45%), but both percentages experienced sharp declines in the last two years.
All of the ingredients are there for civil unrest to erupt in cities all over the United States.
When the next major economic downturn happens, anger and frustration are going to flare to extremely dangerous levels. At this point, it will not take much to set things off.
Desperate people do desperate things, and desperation is rising even now in this country.
So how did things get so bad?
Stupid decisions lead to stupid results, and very soon we will start to pay a very great price for decades of incredibly stupid decisions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_Snyder
Mitch had two sons. Possibly Michael is one of those sons, but probably not.
ILLEGALS getting all the GIMMES they can SQUEEZE out of the USA.
Doesn’t really surprise me that the bottom 15% of our population—probably very heavily weighted with illegals—will stop to pick up the free food offered to them.
54 and has a 7 year old CHILD??? Come on......idiocy....fake story or grandmother.
She's 54? How old is her child? Tell the child to get a job.
Most people from around the country tell me that my experience is typical, not exceptional.
Don't wars start over stuff like this?
Most people from around the country tell me that my experience is typical, not exceptional.
I saw it a few times in California. There is no doubt it happens.
It all looks like a powder keg to me. If the governments are in search of resources, and also want to distract angry citizens, they may see War as a viable solution.
How many are brown and from South of the Border and are illegal aliens?
Also, obongo’s good time rock and rola economy helps a lot, as if we didn’t know that.
That’s because the food banks give to illegal aliens and don’t require ID from them..although Americans must supply DL and SSN etc to get anything..
So the illegal aliens swarm the food banks carrying off good food for all their mythical children at home while the Americans receive only enough for themselves and the children with them or proven..
the same happens at church outlets where they give away clothes and toys...the illegal aliens claim manifold children and sell those items in yard sales and flee markets..
They don’t even have to use fake numbers. Pop out a kid here and they are eligible. The card is issued in the illegal parents name for the child. That’s why everyone thinks illegals are receiving benefits. The problem is the illegals benefit from the children’s benefits. It’s not like they eat separate food. If one kid is American born the whole illegal family qualifies for section 8. If the child is receiving cash benefits because of the parents low income it is issued in the illegal parents name.
The illegals may not be legally receiving benefits but they are by proxy.
Yes I was an eligibility worker in Food Stamps and MediCal once upon a time.
Import the 3rd worlders and get the 3rd world economy. So here we are...
Someone here wrote about being behind an Hispanic woman at Walmart who had had 2 full carts of food. She pulled out several EBT cards from different states. Some were empty but, she would just swipe another one until her food was paid for.
A couple of years ago we were in such dire straits that I had to go to the local food shelf. Hated every second of it. It was a humbling (humiliating?)experience. I would rather eat grass than do that again.
That said, I wasn’t the only English speaking US citizen there, but I was certainly in the minority. In my opinion based on limited experience, the reason for the increase is because of the increase in immigrants-whether legal or illegal.
What went through my mind is that my family has been here since before the revolutionary war and I am the first one to go begging for food. Not a way of life for me.
I have a friend, who came to the US from Mexico when she was 11, for whom visits to the food shelf, the local church pantry, etc. are just a part of her every day life. It’s not reserved for times of great need. Completely different perspective. She was very puzzled that I didn’t apply for WIC or MA-why not if it’s available?
““I can’t get milk for my child. What are we going to do?”
Vote out the socialists. If by chance theyre holding onto their power through voter fraud, then chase out the socialists with whatever you got handy.
How many of these are illegal aliens who should be back in their home countries growing their own food, instead of sponging off the :U.S. taxpayer.
They are here for the Free Stuff, and we are stupid enough to give it to them.
The mighty government-linked taxpayer of today: big, fat debt/revenues in, debt/revenues out—no net taxpayers but a regime of recirculating debt, yes. It’s an economic regime about to collapse. ;-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.