“The population in Pickens County in 2008 was 30,488 and is expected to be 44,459 by 2015. This means the poverty level in Pickens County of 3,170 people in 2008 will rise to 4,415 by 2015. A 6% annual increase!”
The Need
Base on census reports and the poverty level in Pickens County, we have a very pressing need here. Looking at the current population in 2008 as the base, when we project the population for the county we discover that by the year 2015 we will have over 11,000 new neighbors (over one third of our current population).
The 2005 poverty level was 2,932 people and if we project this into 2015 we also find that there will be an estimated 4,415 people below the poverty level. When we consider that there will be over 8,000 visits to CARES in 2008 and then project this number based on the increase in poverty, we expect to have almost 12,000 visits to CARES in 2015 (only seven short years away).
This data is striking. CARES alone expects to increase from roughly 8,000 visits in 2008 to roughly 12,000 visits in 2015. The demands this will place on food supplies, financial resources, facilities, staff, and volunteers is significant.
As you can see, the need is great and growing and we welcome your participation in whatever way you are able.
Hunger in America
Did you know that...
In 2006, 35.5 million Americans lived in food
insecure households, 22.8 million adults and 12.6 million children.
In 2006, 10.9% of households (12.6 million households) were food
insecure, a statistically insignificant decrease from 11% (12.6 million
households) in 2005.
In 2006, 4% of households (4.6 million households)
experienced very low food security, a small increase from 3.9% in 2005.
In 2006, households with children reported food
insecurity at almost double the rate for those without children, 15.6% compared
to 8.5%.
In 2006, households that were more likely to
experience food insecurity were households with children, households with
children headed by single women (30.4%) or men (17%), households with incomes
below the poverty line (36.3%), Black households (21.8%) and Hispanic
households (19.5%).
In 2006, 5.9% of households with seniors ( 1.59
million households) were food insecure (low food security and very low food
security), a statistically insignificant decrease from 6% ( 1.6 million
households) in 2005.
Use of Emergency Food Assistance and Federal Food Assistance
Programs
In 2006, 3.3% of all U.S.
households (3.8 million households) accessed emergency food from a food pantry
one or more times, or 21% of all food-insecure households.3
In 2006, food insecure (low food security or very low
food security) households were 19 times more likely than food-secure households
to have obtained food from a food pantry, an increase in likelihood from 17
times in 2005.4
In 2006, food insecure (low food security or very low
food security) households were 15 times more likely than food-secure households
to have eaten a meal at an emergency kitchen, an decrease in likelihood from 19
times in 2005 . 5
In 2006, 55.5% of food-insecure households
participated in at least one of the three major Federal food assistance
programs - Food Stamp Program, The National School Lunch Program, and the
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children,
remaining unchanged from 55.6% in 2005. 6
America's
Second Harvest Network provides emergency food assistance to an estimated 25
million low-income people annually, an 8% increase from 23 million since Hunger
In America 2001.7
America's
Second Harvest provides emergency food assistance to approximately 4.5 million
different people in any given week. 8
Among members of the America's
Second Harvest network, 65% of pantries, 61% of kitchens, and 52% of shelters
reported that there had been an increase since 2001 in the number of clients
who come to their emergency food program sites.
