{"id":11388,"date":"2014-09-05T05:00:32","date_gmt":"2014-09-05T12:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.speakcityheights.org\/?p=11388"},"modified":"2014-12-30T10:20:54","modified_gmt":"2014-12-30T18:20:54","slug":"san-diego-hunger-study-shows-continued-need-for-food-assistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/speakcityheights.org\/san-diego-hunger-study-shows-continued-need-for-food-assistance\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunger Study Shows Continued Need for Assistance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Food_pantry_t1200\"<\/a>
\nA worker loads food at the Feeding America San Diego distribution center, Sept. 4, 2014. | Photo Credit: Claire Trageser<\/span><\/p>\n

By Claire Trageser<\/span>
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Almost a half-million people received donations last year from San Diego-area food pantries, according to a report released Thursday by Feeding America San Diego.<\/p>\n

The survey<\/a> found a total of 473,500 people received food donations. On average, 54,400 unique clients were served each week.<\/p>\n

The organization also released a study in 2010<\/a>, but a spokeswoman said its findings couldn’t be compared to this year’s results because they used different methodologies.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Gilmore, executive director of Feeding America San Diego, said the study is done to find out who needs food assistance and what food banks are doing to help. The study documents the sources of food available to food assistance agencies across the San Diego region, what types of programs they run and how they use volunteers. It also details information about the clients who come to these agencies.<\/p>\n

“We know that the face of hunger is changing,” Gilmore said at a news conference about the report. “We’re serving families, we serve people with jobs and with homes, and we’re serving people who are having to make tough, tough choices every single day between paying utilities and keeping food on the table.”<\/p>\n

The study found that 64 percent of households, receiving assistance, included someone who earned wages in the past year. But 58 percent of donation-dependent households have a monthly income of less than $1,000, and 70 percent of the households have incomes below the federal poverty level.<\/p>\n

Some of the other findings include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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