A food bank is one of the most basic charities or services that a community can have. Instead of “hunger” the term more frequently used is “food insecurity” but either way is it mentioned, it is a real problem in the world and has become more of a problem in the last few years in the United States. The cause of this problem While poverty in general terms does play a role in determining whether people have food, the surprising factor in people being hungry as of 2012 is unemployment. No matter what people would like to think about the recession of 2008, it has left lingering effects on many communities. While unemployment is down from the record levels, it is still a common problem in many areas of the United States. Think tanks, the federal government and the states have compiled the figures for hunger and food insecurity in the United States for 2012. In essence these state that in 2012, a full 15% of citizens in the U.S. lived in poverty. One out of five children in the U.S. lived in poverty and households with children were in greater risk of having food insecurity. Seniors also scored highly in food insecurity studies as many of them lived considerably under established levels for poverty designation in the U.S. Single parent households headed by women accounted for more than 1/3 of households in these studies. Single parent households headed by men fared only slightly better at a little over 25%. Geographically speaking, some areas have a higher rate of food insecurity than others. One county in Mississippi has a 35%+ rate while others such as ones in North Dakota may have as low as a 2% rate. The unemployment rate continues to be high in many areas of the country with California holding the #2 spot for high rates of unemployment. Why food banks help Choosing to work with or donate to a local food bank can help area residents several ways. It helps to reduce the number of people that go hungry in the community. This fosters goodwill within the community in general but it also helps to strengthen the community as a whole. People will find that most food banks need things like canned goods for meats, seafood like tuna, vegetables and fruit. In addition to these kinds of donations, many of these charities can use cash as this will help to pay rent on their buildings, buy other kinds of food such as fresh fruit or vegetables or bakery goods. Some charities will work with food wholesalers to obtain additional products as a reduced price that can be given to people that need food. People will want to keep in mind that food banks need help all year long and not just during the winter holidays. Many charities provide tax deduction receipts for donors to use during income tax time. For more information, please visit http://sandiegofoodbank.org
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