Current Economy Hits Nation's Food Pantries Hard

[tammywammy]

Current Economy Hits Nation's Food Pantries Hard

The troubled U.S. economy is forcing tens of thousands of people to visit food pantries for the first time. But as the demand rises, donations to those pantries are drying up and some places have run out of food entirely, even in the nation's breadbasket.

Although Kansas' Johnson County is one of the richer counties in the United States, a food pantry there run by the local Catholic Diocese had to close last week.

Ellen Jones, director of Catholic Community Services, says she was stunned.

"I'm not talking about an empty space here or there; the whole shelf was empty. I have never seen that before," she said.

An influx of donations revived the pantry, but Jones says she can't be sure for how long. Demand for free food here has spiked 50 percent from last year. Donations, meanwhile, have slowed to a trickle.

"The people who donate to us are feeling the crunch. Eve

-snip-

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95849670

[liberalmuse]

1. Our Event Planning Committee at work is going to donate...

We are collecting food at work to give to the pantries, and we're also collecting to give to the battered women shelter in Seattle.

My sister and I actually have no qualms dumpster diving in SoDo in Seattle. All the vegans and anti-establishment people do it. You can eat like a king or queen on the most expensive, high quality food in Seattle if you swallow your pride and know where to look in the dumpsters (for vegan/vegitarian fare that is relatively fresh). My daughter actually showed us where to go. We came up bare in our quest today, but I was glad, because it means that others who probably needed the food and juices more than we did found it.

[tammywammy]

2. kick