(Image source: Flickr / Anthony Albright)

BY MATTHEW HIBBARD

More American families will have less food on the table this Thanksgiving, according to a report released by the Department of Agriculture.  The report found about 17.4 million households or roughly 45 million people had trouble putting food on the family table.

An analyst explains why to CNN.

“Well even when the economy was doing alright we had way too much hunger and poverty. But what’s driven hunger and poverty up is the state of the economy. High unemployment, that’s what’s driving up poverty and certainly hunger.”

The study also found hunger-related issues were more common among African-American and Hispanic households than white ones.

A volunteer for a Washington, DC food pantry tells the BBC, the government needs act before it’s too late.

“The minimum wage job in the United States gets you, if you work every day of the year except for maybe a two-week Holiday, it gets you about $12,000 a year, which is still well below the poverty level. These are the folks that we’re struggling with before and they’re struggling now and unless there’s some really significant changes, they’re going to be struggling in the future.”

WAGA talks with a mother who is experiencing the reality of the economy.  And says, the pain is served twice -- once in hunger, with second in guilt.

Reporter: “For people who need the help the most, it’s a daily struggle."
Mother: “To have her look at me and say, mommy, I want -- I want lunch but you can't really supply it.”

An analyst in the Los Angeles Times says, the equation for a fix is pretty simple.  Better times will lead to fuller tummies.  

"We anticipate that food security will improve as the economy improves. But ‘in the near term, without these benefits, many families would face far more severe problems getting the nutritious food they need.’"

What do you think it will it take, to fix the hunger problem?

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