The Nov. 3 story “Ranks of poorest of poor swell in U.S.” reported that the ratio of America’s poorest poor has climbed to a record high — 1 in 15 people.
About 20.5 million people — or 6.7 percent of the population — are in this situation. That’s the highest number in 35 years.
The Nov. 6 story “Half of the unemployed out of benefits” stated “the jobs crisis has left so many people out of work for so long that most of America’s unemployed are no longer receiving unemployment benefits.” A record 46 million people received food stamps in August. “In prior recoveries, the average duration of unemployment was 21 weeks in July 1983.” … “By contrast, the figure reached 41 weeks, longest on records dating to 1948.”
For these reasons, please remember to help the Walk and Knock Food Drive and your local food bank with food donations not just around the holiday months, but year-round.