Durbin: Hunger Free Communities Act Will Provide Needed Help to Area Food Banks
Press Release
Durbin: Hunger Free Communities Act Will Provide Needed Help to Area Food Banks
With food banks across the nation experiencing a 20% increase in the number of people coming through their doors, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that federal help is on the way.
"Working families are struggling to make ends meet while facing rising energy and food costs," Durbin said during a news conference at the Holy Trinity Parish Center. "Families are increasingly turning to their local food bank to put meals on the table. With dwindling donations and increased demand for services, the burden has created many empty shelves at food banks and food pantries in Illinois."
The Senator's Hunger Free Communities Act includes a first-of-its-kind anti-hunger grant program that encourages communities to work together to identify and address hunger locally. The legislation was included in the Farm Bill, which became law in mid-June.
In Illinois, over 158,000 households experienced hunger in 2005. About 500,000 households in Illinois are living with food insecurity, which is defined as having to struggle to put food on the table or having to skip meals. In the United States, prices for all food grew by 4.5 percent in the last year, the highest yearly increase in over 17 years.
The Peoria Area Food Bank distributed more than 1.4 million pounds of food last year in nine Illinois counties. At a recent Monday morning distribution session, 25 of the 100 families who came to the Holy Trinity Parish Center were first-time clients. In June 2007, the food pantry served 643 families. In June 2008, the total rose to 811 families.
In addition to including Senator Durbin's Hunger Free Communities Act, the recently passed Farm Bill will provide $10 billion in additional funding for the nutrition programs that help families cope with hunger. This infusion of critical new federal funds at the national level means that Illinois food banks will see an additional $53 million over the next ten years from The Emergency Food Assistance Program to assist in their efforts to give to families in need.
Due to the difficult economy, the number of Americans receiving food stamps is projected to reach 28 million in the coming year, the highest level since the program began in the 1960s. Food stamps should reach 415,000 additional Illinois residentsalmost 1.5 million people statewide.
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