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A growing number of area residents are going hungry, according to a national study released Tuesday by the San Antonio Food Bank. Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies has the story.
February 4, 2010 · Across the nation the need for greater access to food is rising. The Hunger in America report found that 1 in 8 people lives in food insecurity. But in San Antonio the number of citizens experience food insecurity is worse; it’s 1 in 5.
“If you look at children, it’s actually 1 in 3; basically because, if you look at the number of households living in poverty, we have a higher rate of hunger,” said Eric Cooper, the Executive Director of the San Antonio Food Bank.
Cooper says the local food bank has seen an explosion of need in the area. Over the last four years the number of people getting help from the food bank has doubled.
“If we look at the total need through out the sixteen county area that the San Antonio Food Bank serves, we know just based on poverty data that we are not coming close to meeting the need. There are many more families that we’re not touching,” said Cooper.
Cooper says many of the families coming for help are working poor or the recently unemployed. Some of those same folks used to volunteer at the food bank. Now they are coming looking for a way to keep the wolf from the door.
The Food Bank is struggling to keep up with the surge in demand.
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