Food Fight
More needy heading to food banks
Consumers are facing a double whammy. Sticker-shock at the gas pumps and again at the grocery store. Today a Congressional hearing focuses on how rising food costs affect Americans and what can be done. Jeff Tyler has more.
Woman choosing food at the Daily Bread Food Bank in MIami, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: Today, in Washington, Congress looks at how food prices are affecting people in this country. Jeff Tyler reports.
Jeff Tyler: With the slowing economy and rising unemployment, low income Americans are being squeezed.
George Brailey: Many people who've never been to a food pantry or a food bank are finding themselves in need today.
That's George Brailey with America's Second Harvest, a network of food banks. He'll be speaking at today's hearing. He says the need for assistance is growing.
Brailey: The number of people receiving food stamps today is 1.3 million higher than it was just a year ago.
But with the rapid rise in prices, food stamps don't go as far. As a result, more families are turning up at soup kitchens. And Brailey says charities are having a harder time providing help. For one thing, the federal government is donating less food than in the past. And, of course, inflation cuts into a food bank's buying power. So, with the same budget, they can't feed as many people.
I'm Jeff Tyler for Marketplace.
