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Community Corner

No Thanksgiving Break for the Needy

As most enjoy a few days of feasts and family, others around Fairfield County struggle to make do.

A pilgrimage to a food pantry is simply reality for more and more Americans. And as America’s feast day passes, some Wilton residents may have had to forgo a serving of stuffing– not because of calories, but because of their cupboard.

The Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County had only about 300 turkeys in its freezer eary last week, a stark contrast to the estimated 2,000 it collected this time last year. And considering the food bank wanted 10,000 turkeys in all this year, that number is a trifle.

“Most of our donors don’t have a job anymore. They are probably standing in food lines themselves,” said Amy Tarantino of the Stamford-based Fairfield County Food Bank.

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Usually local companies and supporting donors help, but with so many in financial straits, that number has dropped. In lower Fairfield County, the need for emergency food has doubled in the past two years; that, in turn, means more Wilton residents are in dire straits.

In Wilton, 2.8 percent of residents reported income below the poverty line in 2007.  That compares with 7.9 percent of residents from the whole state. Of that, 1.1 percent of Wiltonians have income below 50 percent of the poverty line.

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“There are more people relying on food banks than ever,” Tarantino said.

The Food Bank distributes about 1,000,000 pounds of food per year and hidden between the rush of recipes for turkeys and sweet potatoes are hungry children.  Indeed, one out of every five children in Connecticut is hungry or at risk of hunger.

The four-day Thanksgiving recess poses a problem for many of these children because they don’t get the Federal Free Breakfast and Lunch when school lets out.

Executive director Kate Lombardo said even middle-class families need help this year, something not seen before.  That contributes to the increased need for donations.

According to the U.S. Department of Agricultural, 49 million Americans have reported a lack of food. Last year, people in 4.8 million households used private food pantries, compared with 3.9 million in 2007.  People in about 625,000 households relied on food pantries in 2007, up from nearly 90,000 the year before.

The nation’s unemployment reached 10.2 percent.  It was 7.2 percent in 2008, up from 4.9 percent in 2007.

Hardest hit are families headed by single mothers,where  37 percent reported food insecurity compared with 14 percent of married households. The report also showed about 29 percent of Hispanic households with food insecurity compared with 27 percent of black households and 12 percent of white households.

According to the USDA, families reporting food scarcity have at least one adult with a full-time job.  The problem then may be wage decrease, not job loss.

Whether its unemployment or underemployment Wilton residents and residents of neighboring towns need help, Tarantino said. 

According to the Fairfield County Food Bank, a family of four needs a living wage of $32 per hour in order to survive.  However, the working poor usually earn Connecticut's minimum wage per hour: $7.65 in 2008, $8.00 in 2009, and $9.00 in 2010.

At the 2008 rate of pay, this hypothetical family must work 167 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom apartment. That means the family would have to work nearly around the clock. Faced with this quandary, many go without meals rather than skip rent.

"The turkey shortage is just part of the problem," said Tarantino.

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