Food assistance spreads its reach

[Louisiana1976]

Every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, the line begins to form outside the Illinois Department of Human Services long before someone unlocks the front door at 9 a.m.

There are many reasons about 400 clients make the trek to the state office building on Northeast Adams Street each day - to register a new name, a baby or an address to an existing account, attend the required annual check-in with a caseworker, ask a question about benefits.

But increasingly they are coming for one specific purpose: an initial application to receive government assistance to buy groceries.

"We've seen a tremendous increase in the number of people applying for what used to be called food stamps," said Lisa Feinholz, the Human Services director for Peoria and Woodford counties. "The volume of first-time applicants started to rise significantly about a year to 18 months ago."

It's really no surprise. The area unemployment rate hit double digits in June, peaked at 12.3 percent in July and remained high with the latest report - an 11.7 percent rate for October.

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http://www.pjstar.com/news/x962895966/Food-assistance-spreads-its-reach

[undergroundpanther]

1. I went for food assistance

early this month...I can't go back for 30 days. But at least I got food.

Several people were there,we all stood in line in the cold rain waiting for the food assistance place to open the doors.We got there early and there was a line already. I shared my umbrella with a few kids.This was at the food bank.I know lots of people on or that need foodstamps and the food bank to survive.I am among them..


sigh.

[JanusAscending]

2. Welcome to the club honey....

sad to say it's growing by leaps and bounds. I've been going once a month to our local food pantry, and the lines are getting longer each time. I get $16.00 a month in food stamps which is no where sufficient enough on my fixed S.S. income, so the kindness of others is very welcomed by me. I pray for better days for all those in need.

[undergroundpanther]

3. Yeah I know

Been going to the food pantry before. it sucks but it's better than being hungry..Ya know this scheme of paying to exist, it's fucking abusive. None of us asked to be in this world, before corporations the world provided food for us,when it was wild. Yeah,the delivery system wasen't perfect,but we lived, we ate the plants and hunted animals .We ate without paying some rich Ceo for the 'privlege' of eating food...So why do we accept paying money ,paying others who have way more than us,way more than most of humanity,why do we pay THEM, MORE for the rights to eat food,something all people do, to exist? WTF has happened to us?
Why do we accept this level of inequality and craziness concerning basic human needs to support life? Lions don't pay a corporation to catch and eat a zebra.Birds do not pay for the berries they eat.