Hunger woes 'persistent'; U.S. mayors see rising need for food, housing

Their local economies may ebb and flow, and city policies come and go, but one constant remains for mayors nationwide — the rising need for emergency food and low-income housing.

"Persistent" is how a special task force describes hunger and homelessness in an annual report released Monday by the The U.S. Conference of Mayors.

The group of nearly 1,139 mayors nationwide ought to know; it has been tracking the course and scale of key services to low-income populations in their cities for 21 years. Progress in dealing with hunger and homelessness is consistent among the cities, according to the report. But increasing need consistently taps out emergency food banks and shelter services, the report states.

Front-line data gathered from service providers in Salt Lake City and 22 other cities across the country show requests for food assistance over the past year increased by about 15 percent, and 19 cities expect demand to increase by that much again in the coming year.

Every city but Salt Lake reports that food pantries had to turn away or limit the number of food requests they filled. Salt Lake's food banks do not turn anyone away, but the increase in requests — particularly the notable rise in the number of families with children requesting food — "have stretched resources more than usual during the past year."

Resources were also stretched by donors, whose generosity often oversupplied the need the past year. Food programs in the Salt Lake area have actually found themselves at times overwhelmed by food donations but short on storage space. Donations were turned down or were rerouted to other pantries.

Highlighted in the report is the 17-site Kid's Cafe, the Utah Food Bank's meal program that offers weeknight dinners to low-income youths who qualify for free or reduced-priced school lunches and breakfasts. It provided 101,393 meals to low-income children last year, according to the mayors' report.

The rising use of food programs nationally, what a mayors' conference spokesman called "the hunger crisis," are the results of more people finding themselves underemployed or in job transition, higher utility, transportation and housing costs.

The recent spike in home foreclosures is playing a part, along with overall increases in the cost of living and the continuing rise in the price of food in general, the report states. Sixteen cities report they are not meeting requests for emergency food assistance — 17 percent of all people in need and 15 percent of households with children are not receiving it, according to the report.