LatinaLista– Thanksgiving seems to be the one time of the year where people actually remember that there are those who are going hungry in our communities.
According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 15 percent of American households suffer from “food insecurity.” In real numbers, it adds up into the double digit millions.
The group most impacted by not having enough food is Latinos.
According to the USDA figures, nearly 27 percent of Hispanics and nearly 25 percent of African-Americans suffer from food insecurity, compared to 11 percent of white non-Hispanic households. Nearly one in four — or 17 million — children live in households that struggle to put food on the table.
These households struggle with buying food because they are impoverished. Due to the recession and job losses, more families than ever don’t have enough money to buy food — and it’s not going to get any better.
Food prices spiked in 2007-2008 and signs show that it’s still costing more to put food on the table.
The American Farm Bureau Federation released a report saying that the cost of putting together a Thanksgiving meal in 2010 costs a little more than it did last year with such staple items as milk, sweet potatoes and rolls costing several cents more than before.
A few cents can seem like hundreds of dollars to families who don’t have it.
