The severity of the coronavirus epidemic in the United States has exacerbated the concerns of low-income people about food and clothing. U.S. media reported on the 24th that as Thanksgiving Day approaches, the number of people claiming “food for relief” in many states in the United States has increased significantly compared with previous years.
People are waiting in line for hours to receive prepackaged food as a “big meal” for Thanksgiving holidays, video shows the Meadowlands Entertainment Center in New Jersey. A woman with a face in East Rutherford, New Jersey, told CNN that “we don’t know where to get food” without a charity called “food banks”.
A report from the Rhode Island Community Food Center shows that a quarter of the state’s families face food shortages, and the demand for assistance from multiple food banks has climbed by about 26%. The food bank’s head told Providence Daily that “we can’t get through” if Congress doesn’t approve a new coronavirus aid package.
Hermi Smitt, a project manager at CityTeam, a San Jose charity in California, said that the demand for food aid has more than tripled by city residents so far this year. As part of the annual Thanksgiving food distribution, it is estimated that “about 5,000 people, or more, will be assisted” in November.
Willie Elliott-McRae, director of the Second Harvest Food Center in Santa Cruz County, California, said: “We have assisted 70% more people than ever before. 40% of the people who came (receive food) have never sought food assistance before. This situation is shocking.
Representatives of the North Texas Food and Relief Center said that they distributed about 8,500 relief meals to local families last weekend, compared with fewer than 1,000 residents in the past few years.
“People need food before they come in line,” said Teresa Cunningham, president of the North Texas Food Center. “We want to ensure that everyone who needs food has access to food.”
The U.S. Congress has been arguing for months about whether and how to implement the second round of large-scale coronavirus assistance plans, and now it seems to have completely put aside discussions. According to the daily newspaper, there is little hope that the plan will be approved this year.
