More Area Residents Are Depending On Food Banks To Survive
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A new report finds food banks are now the norm for many who might otherwise go hungry.
Philabundance President Bill Clark says long-term reliance has on food pantries has developed for four reasons: a growing senior population on a fixed income, a growing population of "working poor," impoverished neighborhoods where there is no grocery store, and the gap between food stamp benefits and the need.
"So we're seeing waves - where those food stamp benefits run out and people are coming to the cupboards at the end of the month."
Clark says Philabundance doesn't see using food banks as a food source going away anytime soon even as pantries struggle to meet an increasing need among young, old, unemployed and working people.
Reported by Robin Culverwell, KYW Newsradio
