By R. Stickney / NBCSanDiego.com / September 2, 2009
A line wrapped down the block and around another one in Hillcrest Tuesday morning. If you didn’t know, you would think they were handing out free money not free nectarines and bread.
One after another, young and old collected plastic bags filled with fresh produce — bread, cantalope, nectarines, bananas and potatoes — from volunteers.
With every thank you from the people pushing carts and holding boxes, volunteers behind the line can be heard chatting while they pack bags with fresh fruits and vegetables.
The San Diego Food Bank has more than 150 scheduled distributions throughout the county each month. The Hillcrest distribution is the first Tuesday of each month from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. To mark the beginning of Hunger Action Month, a program aimed at getting community to take action against hunger, the makers of Home Pride and WonderBread donated 5,000 loaves of bread to San Diego families.
“The face of hunger in San Diego has changed,” Chris Carter of the Food Bank said. “It’s no longer just the low-income working poor.” Now, San Diego’s middle-class families affected by the recession need help.
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i hate to say this…but this is really, really, old news.
Is the bread any good?
News flash: Food stamp list soars past 35 million:
More than 35 million Americans received food stamps in June, up 22 percent from June 2008 and a new record as the country continued to grapple with the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The food stamp program, which helps cover the cost of groceries for one in nine Americans, has grown in step with the U.S. unemployment rate which stood at 9.4 percent in July.
The Labor Department will release August employment figures on Friday.
June was the seventh straight month in which food stamp rolls set a record. The average benefit in June was $133.12 per person. (Reuters)
Lane, you’re right, it is old and tragically, really old news. The thing that made this highlight was the donation of hundreds of loaves of bread by the company that’s mentioned in the post. But, also, the lines are growing – and ultimately changing.