Food banks burdened by high demand in sour economy

WASHINGTON (AP) – Soup kitchen workers are seeing new faces in line and charities are taking more calls for help as the recession makes for a less-than-bountiful Thanksgiving.

Hunger relief advocates went to Congress on Thursday and painted a bleak picture of a country struggling to meet an increased need for food assistance at a time of high unemployment.

Charities and nonprofit groups called on lawmakers to give people tax incentives to donate to charities, expand federal nutrition programs and spend more on programs to help people prepare for work.

The congressional hearing on food banks followed an Agriculture Department report that more than one in seven households struggled to put enough food on the table in 2008 – the highest rate since the agency began tracking food security in 1995.

That’s about 49 million people, or 14.6 percent of U.S. households counted as lacking the food for an active, healthy life.

In October, the Catholic Charities of Central Texas’ food pantry fed 2,637 people – its largest monthly number.