California food banks hurting as children go hungry

Turning dozens of hungry children away from a free meals program wasn't how Vince Harper wanted to start the summer.

Harper oversees a program in Santa Rosa, California, that provides food to kids during schools' summer recess. More than 90 lined up at a community center on June 9, the first day of the service. Only 50 meals were available.

``It's a terrible feeling,'' said Harper, 41, director of youth and neighborhood services for the Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County. ``You have to tell them to come back tomorrow, and hopefully they will.''

As California schools let out this month, food banks in the state face record demand for free meals from families pressed by food price inflation and economic hardship.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties has requested extra donations, saying 115,000 children may go hungry in the region. The San Francisco Food Bank has been forced to find new sources to distribute enough food for 66,000 meals a day, a 16 percent increase from last year.

``There are some kids this summer that might not have enough food because they're not getting meals at school,'' said Marguerite Nowak, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Food Bank.

In California, a state with 36.5 million residents, food banks serve about 5 million people per month, said Jessica Bartholow of the California Association of Food Banks.

Some food banks say they are having trouble meeting demand because of a 59 percent drop in goods provided by the federal government, forcing them to buy more food while prices are rising. Manufacturing efficiencies also have decreased the amount of surplus and defective products typically donated by companies, food bank employees say.

Graduation Ceremony

In Kettleman City, California, about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, kindergarteners took a break from their June 6 graduation ceremony to go to a food bank.

``They walked across the street in their Sunday best to get food from us so they could eat that weekend,'' said Dana Wilkie, president of Community Food Bank in Fresno.

Californians are being squeezed by the nation's highest gas prices, averaging $4.609 a gallon for regular unleaded, some of the country's most expensive housing markets and an unemployment rate of 6.8 percent, fifth highest in the country.
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I used to work in the school system in my town, and spoke to some children who claimed the free lunch they got (which believe me was substandard by any standard) was the only meal they had. I actually brought in lunch for a couple of students who you could tell didn't have much. It is bad enough to see adults going hungry, but knowing children in this country are is something that should never be ignored. Children shouldn't have to go hungry because the money is going in gas tanks! This is the heartbreaking reality we face in this country. The Congress can approve bills to budget and approve billions for "war" and yet our children cannot even get a basic meal or a decent education. This is not only an American tragedy but an American disgrace.