Hungry and Jobless

Hungry and jobless – that is the message we hear repeatedly in our dining rooms. The growing need for a hot, nutritious meal here at Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa (LFCC) continues to expand at an alarming rate. We have seen more than a 54 percent increase on most days, and near the end of the month that increase in meals served is close to 100 percent higher than last year’s. Currently we are serving more than 9,000 meals per month. Residents of Contra Costa County continue to struggle in this recession that relentlessly grinds on with no relief in sight.

In January the report, Hunger in America 2010, was released by Feeding America, drawing on data from more than 62,000 interviews and surveys of 37,000 feeding agencies. They report that, “hunger is increasing at an alarming rate in the United States.”  They say that one in eight Americans now rely on food from food banks, soup kitchens, and other agencies like Loaves and Fishes. According to the report, that is a 46 percent increase from 2006 and represents 37 million Americans nationwide including 14 million children.

On the heels of the Feeding America report came another from the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano (FBCCS), an affiliate of Feeding America and one of our primary food source partners. They report:
•  a 64 percent increase in demand for FBCCS’s services;
•  that of those receiving assistance, more than 70 percent of 488 clients said they were unemployed, and 45 percent said they had been unemployed for more than two years; and
•  about 130,000 people are receiving assistance from FBCCS, which includes LFCC clients.

This hunger is economy driven. Unemployment statistics in Contra Costa are grim. According to the U.S. Labor Department, in just two years, the unemployment rate in California has more than doubled from 5.9 percent in December 2007 to 12.4 percent in December 2009. Furthermore, California is one of 16 states that remain higher than the national average of 10 percent.

Who are the people who need our services? About 25 percent of LFCC clients are homeless. According to LFCC’s executive director Mike Baroman-Coggins, “Our largest growing population of guests is families with small children, the elderly on fixed incomes, and the newly homeless who cannot afford to both stay in their homes and pay their bills after either losing their jobs or having their work hours reduced. For these hard-working people, the ‘American Dream’ is anything but a dream.”

We at Loaves and Fishes continue to work hard, providing nutritious food for those in need. However, donations from individuals and local civic groups and churches are down by 50 percent, while clients needing our services have increased by 54 percent. We know that these difficult times have affected almost everyone in some way or another, and we appreciate your generous support. Now we are appealing to you to consider making another donation – no amount is too small. As Mike says, “Many small acts of kindness add up to a large portion of kindness!” Together we can weather this raging storm.