Thank You 

• The Phoenix St. Vincent de Paul Society is expecting 7000 people in their dining rooms on Thanksgiving Day. 7000! - must get themselves to a charity dining room on Thanksgiving to eat their holiday meal.
• In addition, St. Mary's Food Bank in Phoenix is preparing to give away over 23,000 complete family-size Thanksgiving dinners before the holiday on Thursday. That’s 23,000 additional families in Phoenix alone, who do not have the funds to provide their family with a holiday meal!
• Finally, more than 50 million people in the U.S. relied on food assistance from charities in 2023.

Poverty

Poverty across the world is nothing new. But this many people living in the world's richest country that cannot afford even one holiday meal is a startling statistic!

St. Mary’s has been a lifeline for Arizona families since 1967, distributing more than 1.6 billion pounds of food. More than 1,700 families seek day-to-day help at the food bank's two central locations; a figure expected to rise to 3,000 to 4,000 families as Thanksgiving approaches.

NYC

A look at poverty and hunger in New York City, America's largest, sharpens one's perspective on hunger and need across America as Thanksgiving approaches.

• Nearly 1.2 million New York City residents (3.5%) are food insecure.
• Food Bank For New York City’s food distribution program provides nearly 66 million free meals per year for New Yorkers in need.
• Since 1983, Food Bank For New York City has provided nearly 1.6 billion meals to New Yorkers in need.
• Every day, Food Bank For New York City’s nutrition education programs and services empower over 13,000 children and families to sustain a healthy diet on a limited budget.
• Nearly 2.3 million New York State residents (11.4%) are food insecure.

Food Insecure 

17 million United States households (12.8%) are food insecure. This is an increase of 8% compared to the prior year’s national food insecurity rate of 11.8%. "Food insecurity" is a bit of a euphemism for the risk of families going hungry on any given day. "Hungry, undernourished" children is a bit more to the point. Food insecurity is a social problem, but hungry, undernourished children is a mother's heartbreak.

What Are the Causes?

We asked two social workers why there is so much food insecurity in the U.S. when our unemployment rate hovers around a robust 3.7%. In other words, most of the country is gainfully employed. Why are so many children still going hungry? Each offered a different perspective.

Social Worker #1 – “There are two main causes I experience in the urban setting I work in.

1. Widespread drug and alcohol abuse. These disorders alone account for a large percentage of the food insecure families I see here at the clinic. Either the father or the mother, or often both parents, are addicted and only marginally functional in supporting their family. Families come in here with a mountain of complex problems but the first thing we must do is get them and their children something to eat.
2. The lagging pay scale for unskilled workers. There's plenty of work for maids and laborers in our big cities (thus the low unemployment rate) but their wages lag far behind the inflation rate of family necessities like food and shelter. Even if one or both parents work two jobs the elevated cost of rent in big cities keeps them always only one step ahead of homelessness. Sometimes, even food must be rationed.”

Social Worker #2 – “I'm experiencing different conditions here in the suburbs. What I see as the main cause of food insecurity in my practice is the breakdown of the traditional family unit.

1. Many of the families who come to our food bank for their daily meal have a single mother as head of the household. Two parent families seem almost rare. Struggling single mothers are simply unable to earn a good living and, at the same time, care for the children at home. The cost of childcare alone pushes them over the poverty edge, and there's not enough money left in the budget to provide basic food staples. This condition is becoming more and more widespread every year.
2. The other "breakdown of the traditional family" unit I notice is that the elderly can no longer rely on the family to help them get by. Most of the people who come to St. Vincent de Paul for Thanksgiving dinner are elderly and alone. With the massive baby boomer generation now retiring, the number of elderly guests we have for Thanksgiving dinner multiplies every year.”

Thank You

When we see "food insecurity" (hunger) through the eyes of these experienced professionals we hesitate to look for someone to blame, which is our normal "knee jerk" reaction to all social problems. Rather, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we want to say "Thank You" to the professionals and volunteers who work tirelessly in our nation's food banks to help the marginalized meet basic needs.