Food Banks Hurting This Thanksgiving

Food banks and homeless shelters are already grappling with reduced federal aid as fears grow that more people will need help just as charity giving starts to decline....

The backbone of those charities, U.S. households with $200,000 or more in annual income or more than $1 million in assets, are also the ones most likely hit by the recent drop in stock prices sparked by the mortgage mess, according to research....

But research also shows stock prices have more of an effect on their giving than income changes, said Patrick Rooney, director of research at Indiana University's Center for Philanthropy, which carried out the Bank of America study in 2006....

Carol Schneider, media relations manager for the Food Bank for New York City, said a major U.S. bank — she wouldn't name the company — has reduced its donation by 60 percent this year, citing the fallout from mortgage losses....

Unfortunately, when giving falls, it's most often when demands on charitable groups are rising, said Rick Belous, United Way's vice president of research. Food pantries around the country are scrambling to meet rising demand from households that can't afford food because of rising housing costs. The crisis also affects renters, who are heading for emergency shelters after landlord-owners foreclose on apartments and houses, said Steve Berg, vice president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Nearly 500,000 mortgages nationwide were foreclosed in the third quarter, double the number in the same period last year, according to housing data company RealtyTrac Inc. Some experts estimate 2 million homes could be foreclosed in 2007 and 2008....

High oil prices have increased transportation and heating costs, forcing many low-income families to choose between heating or eating, advocates said. Federal data show food costs up 4.5 percent this year, with even bigger price increases in staples like milk and eggs, said Stephanie Nichols, public relations manager at the Greater Boston Food Bank. For the first time in 10 years, a homeless shelter in Joliet, Ill., is full, said Lorri Nagle, director of development at the Catholic Charities USA agency there. A Catholic Charities overnight shelter in Minneapolis served as many people through Sept. 30 as it did in all of 2006, said John Keightley, the group's executive vice president. "We're definitely seeing more people coming to emergency food programs," said Aine Duggan, vice president for government relations at the Food Bank for New York City.

Almost 1.3 million New Yorkers visited food pantries, soup kitchens and similar programs in 2007, up 24 percent from 2004, according to a report prepared by Duggan's group. Meanwhile, food banks are receiving less aid from the federal government, resulting in empty shelves at food pantries and soup kitchens across the country. Food from a commodity surplus program run by the Agriculture Department has declined 70 percent the past three years, the nonprofit America's Second Harvest said, due largely to increased demand that has boosted farmers' sales and what they can charge....

New York's food banks have seen federal food aid drop by almost half, to 17 million pounds last year from 29 million pounds in 2004, Duggan said.

...Without the promise of increased federal help, charitable groups are urging people to give as much as they can.

Ed. This is the price of war. Our economy will eventually recover, we hope before too many suffer. Please, give what you can. Share what you can. If you don't have any money, support our sponsors with free clicks (see our home page @ http://www.charityintersection.com)