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.
1) basic economics tells us the potential demand for anything free is infinite
2) We are on generation 3 or 4 of the hyper-welfare state. 50 million working-age adult Americans aren’t working, and aren’t looking. Any shame there was in living for free off others, or the government, disappeared 20 years ago. Indeed, many think its their God-given right.
So why is anyone surprised food banks can’t keep their shelves stocked?
Minor point but, what age is the child of a 54 year old woman?
And tell us that child us not getting free meals with milk at least twice a day in school.... And most schools now feed year round.
taxes go up. Negative interest rates. Massive Federal Reserve money printing to fund massive Government deficits. Capital controls. Your money will belong to the Government.
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.
guess she finally dried up
I sometimes shop at a Chinese grocery. The owner recently installed large tanks for fresh fish, clams, and Alaskan King Crab at $40 per lb. I asked him: "who can afford to buy this?"
His answer: "Its all foodstamps." He then pointed out some Russians who just departed and were getting into a Lexus SUV. "They are EBT too."
Well when you figure the average amount per person is $125/month, and the kids are getting free bk and lunch @ la escuela, there’s plenty of gravy to be spent.
My family did the peanut butter and cheese thing in the 50s. We were Americans. I have a problem with nurturing an invasive slime with a murderous hatred of anything American. Throw them out.
The greatest motivation to man is the inability to:
Eat
Drink
Have shelter
Have transportation
Have medical aid
In today’s society the government provides all!
Here, it’s the 2015’s! Why the hell sould anyone work since the government provides all to the lazy and those who never took the time or effort to improve themselves.
It’s not by accident that this is the way of life today for it was planned many years ago and the seed of Socialism was planted in 1964. Now, it’s time to go out and pick the fruit...Socialists.
She’s 54 and has a child needing milk? BS....
Well......you don’t know that. If she speaks spanish it is entirely possible it could be her 34th child.
Another way around is the parents apply for welfare for an anchor baby, a citizen. That "citizen" gets the full welfare treatment; Section 8 housing, food stamps, cash assistance, utilities, Medicaid and the rest of the family tags along for the ride.
Another scam is the fed gov classifying the illegals as refugees or asylum seekers making them eligible for all benefits. That's the majority of the "unaccompanied minors" and family units coming in the border surges from Guatemala, Hondouras and El Salvador.
middle class hardest hit
Happens here in Phoenix.
Oh please spare me. We have all these campaigns for the supposedly starving blacks here in North Florida, and the whole thing is totally ridiculous and could induce cynicism in even the most politically correct.
Nobody of any color is going to bed hungry...unless they or their parents are totally whacked out on drugs, which does happen and is a completely different question. In that case, take the kids away and feed them...but of course our courts won’t do that.
I'm not buying the basic premise of this article even a little bit.
My daughter used to work as a volunteer in our local Christian food bank. She recently gave it up because 95% of the recipients are illegal aliens who don't speak a word of English.
Kick out the illegals, then private charities and church food banks could easily handle the hunger issues of AMERICANS.
Lifelock has brought this up, as well as the situation of a girl being disabled but denied SSDI because someone with her SSN was working in another state.
We taxpayers are suckers
I live in an area where there are very few illegal aliens. I take my elderly aunt to the food bank at the local Catholic church every month. 90% of the recipients are poor, white trash. Mostly single moms. Almost all of them look healthy and physically able to do some sort of work. Not sure about their mental statuses. The disabled people and seniors who go there have to wait until ALL the regular people get served. The regular recipients are assigned a time range to show up for their pickup. Starting at 7:30-11:30. By the time the seniors get called to pick up their order, most of the fresh produce is gone. Fortunately, the non-perishables are prepacked for them. Every year, you are required to show ID, proof of income, and proof of residence. We are fortunate that the local grocery stores are very generous to the local food banks. But it is getting worse every year. More people are seeking aid, and the resources are limited. There is so much food that is wasted in this country. Especially fresh foods.
The day We the People reelected Obama, I recognized we reached the tipping point and officially became a Socialist nation, one that rewards failure and slovenliness and victimization and penalizes success and productivity and creativity. That very day, I quit donating to anyone/anything that crossed my path needing financial assistance, as they can just get in line like all the rest of them for the inevitable vote-buying government handouts confiscated by you and me. My last contribution to an assistance charity was Salvation Army for the Japan Tsunami. Those people were true victims and are not slovenly by any means.
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