Food bank pinpoints where hunger is highest

It's sad to hear about it, even in this great nation of ours which is considered one of the wealthiest in the world. It seems people still have a problem getting or making a meal. Every now and then I would stroll around downtown Chicago and I would see something quite unusual, people digging in the trash cans for something to eat.

It's an indication of how far down some people have allowed themselves to go. Or they must really be hungry. Who knows? Thankfully there are places you can go to get some food instead of digging thru trash cans. In fact you will meet in person in this Tribune article who only does this so that his children can eat.

There is one angle not discussed in this piece. It may or may not have much bearing, but in the poor areas listed in this article, there have been articles or studies that have discussed how many of these areas lack a grocery store. The side effect may not be hunger but for those who don't have a grocery store they have to go to these corner stores that may not serve the most healthy and nutritious foods available.

Any case here's a bit of this article...

Tony Dillard walked three miles Thursday to get to Walls Memorial Church, where the Greater Chicago Food Depository had its mobile pantry set up. Then he lugged about 40 pounds of food -- peaches, bananas, milk, cereal, bread, beef stew, macaroni, Rice-A-Roni, tuna, applesauce and broccoli -- back home to his four children, all younger than 10.

Dillard, who said there isn't enough day labor to keep him employed, makes the trek to the East Garfield Park church's own, separate pantry once a week. Otherwise, his children would go hungry, he said.

"Sometimes I sacrifice," said Dillard, 49. "I've been in garbage cans eating, so they can eat. There's no sense in sugar-coating it."

East Garfield Park is one of 10 Cook County communities that the food depository has identified as having the greatest unmet food needs. A study, commissioned by the depository and conducted by the University of Illinois at Chicago, determined which areas have the highest levels of poverty and the least access to emergency food.

These areas include the Chicago neighborhoods of Austin, East Garfield Park, Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing, Humboldt Park, North Lawndale, Washington Park and West Garfield Park, the study said. In the suburbs, the areas include Ford Heights/Chicago Heights and Steger/Sauk Village, according to the study.

To conduct the study, released Thursday, researchers evaluated food stamp data, the depository's distribution of food, and surveys of more than 114,000 people visiting agencies that work with the depository.

The depository will use the study to create a road map for the work it needs to do in the next five years, executive director Kate Maehr said. The study will help the depository figure out where and how it can have the greatest impact.

"The need for food continues to grow," she said. "We have to do more, but there are limited resources."

A variety of reasons explain the gap between the amount of food needed and the amount distributed, Maehr said. Pantries might not have enough food to give out, and they might not be open at enough locations or enough hours or days a week. The hungry might not know about pantries or might not want to go to them.