Harrisburg, PA, Nov. 18, 2009 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA) recently reported that 185,000 residents of Central Pennsylvania are “food insecure,” meaning that they lack consistent access to adequate amounts of nutritious food. In total, 49 million Americans, including nearly 17 million children, are food insecure. The 2009 report on Household Food Insecurity in the United States paints an alarming picture of the pervasiveness of hunger in our nation. 

Demand at local food assistance agencies like the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and CHANNELS Food Rescue is up approximately 30-50 percent over this time last year, according to Kendall Hanna, Executive Director of the Food Bank and Fran Seeger, Executive Director of CHANNELS.

“These are alarming numbers.  It is tragic that so many people in central PA don’t have regular access to food,” said Hanna.  “It is important to note that the USDA numbers reflect the state of the hunger crisis in 2008.  Since then, the economy has significantly weakened, and there are likely many more people struggling with hunger than this report states. "

“We continue to work on the front lines feeding more than 185,000 people each year, through area food pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency feeding centers – more than 500 agencies in total,” said Hanna.  “These establishments, many of which are grass root and faith-based centers operated solely by volunteers, serve as an oasis for the more than 35,000 people who seek relief weekly to help feed themselves and their families.  Emergency food assistance is a critical link in central PA’s response chain to help people through times of crisis.”

 “National socio-economic indicators, including the escalating unemployment rate and the number of working-poor, lead us to believe that the number of people facing hunger will continue to rise significantly over the coming year,” added Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America.  “Research on previous economic recessions indicates that people who fall into the grips of poverty in a time of recession often times never recover.  Many of those people are likely to be in need of our services now or in the future.”  Escarra observes, “Feeding America and its network food banks, including the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and CHANNELS, will continue to work closely with our partners at USDA to ensure that the public and charitable sectors are keeping pace – as best we can – with the dramatically increasing needs for food assistance.”

About Feeding America

Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 25 million Americans each year, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 63,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit http://www.feedingamerica.org. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Feeding America  or follow our news on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Feedingamerica.

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is a not-for-profit organization that is able to reduce hunger in 27 counties across Pennsylvania, by working with nearly 500 local agencies to provide food to 35,000 people in need every week. For more information on the Food Bank and its mission to reduce hunger in Pennsylvania, or to learn more about the children’s programs, visit www.centralpafoodbank.org

CHANNELS is a charitable, nonprofit organization designed to rescue prepared but unserved food from hotels, hospitals, caterers, corporate kitchens, and other food service contractors for immediate delivery to the soup kitchens, crisis centers, homeless shelters, and other agencies in our area who serve people in need. CHANNELS is currently delivering over 60,000 lbs. of nourishing food monthly to over  60 agencies, feeding over 100,000 persons annually.  In addition, CHANNELS’ Kitchen School supplies meals to 600 children daily in 12 sites of our Kids Cafes. For more info, visit www.ChannelsFoodRescue.org