WBEZ (Chicago Public Radio) reports that the number of residents in need of food reflects high poverty numbers for 2012.
Chicago’s food pantries see the city’s growing hunger problem up close.
“You see people lining up before the sun rises even on these coldest days of the year, and waiting, you know, in some cases two, three, four hours,” said Bob Dolgan of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Cook County’s largest food bank — and the yearly recipient of CHIditarod’s huge mobile food drive.
He said in October 2012, their food pantries had more than 550,000 visits – a record number (they don’t have numbers yet for more recent months). Over five years, the organization has seen an 84 percent increase in monthly visits to its 650 food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters.
Read the full article on WBEZ.org.