US hunger crisis persists, especially for kids and older adults
01 Apr 2021
Rita Scanlon, 92, eats lunch delivered to her by Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island as she listens to Gov. Gina Raimondo's press conference urging residents to stay home. File AP
America is starting to claw its way out of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, but food insecurity persists, especially for children and older adults.
Food banks around the US continue giving away far more canned, packaged and fresh provisions than they did before the virus outbreak tossed millions of people out of work, forcing many to seek something to eat for the first time. For those who are now back at work, many are still struggling, paying back rent or trying to rebuild savings. "We have all been through an unimaginable year,” said Brian Greene, CEO of the Houston Food Bank, the network’s largest. It was distributing as much as 1 million pounds of groceries daily at various points during the pandemic last year.