Fighting Hunger in a Land of Plenty

(CBS)  We dream all year of a big Thanksgiving feast. Happily, most of us can bank on it. And even folks going through hard times have reason to hope for a place at the table, thanks to their selfless neighbors in this land of plenty. Barry Petersen reports our Cover Story:

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It has been a good year for food in America: A record soybean harvest, the second highest corn harvest ever, potatoes and apples . . . all up.

Good news for bad times. Because America is, more than ever, the land of the hungry.

Last week, the government said 49 million Americans are unsure of where their next meal is coming from. That is almost one in six . . . and 17 million of those are kids.

It's a HUGE problem being met with a huge response.

We visited a warehouse run by Feeding America.

"This is BIG," said Peterson, "but you have big all over the country?"

"If you think in terms of the top 10 metropolitan cities in the U.S., we have a food bank like this in all of those," said feeding America's CEO Vicki Escarra.

It runs out of a Chicago skyscraper, not a church basement, and its reach is nationwide.

"If you were to look at the fact that our network will deliver close to 3 billion pounds of food this year, you know, we are one of the largest grocery stores in the country," Escarra said.

The largest supplier of free food in the nation, with 205 warehouses like this one in Chicago where work starts at dawn.

"Starting at 5:00 a.m., trucks are departing to go across the country and provide truckloads of food to the 63,000 agencies, taking food to community kitchens, to kids' cafes, to churches, to synagogues."

Stocking food banks goes hand-in-hand with getting the food, and that is where the late John Van Hengel comes in.

In 1967 he had an idea that changed America: Collect excess food from supermarkets or farms where it was going to be thrown away, and bring it a central location where it could be withdrawn, like money from a bank.

St. Mary's Food Bank, our nation's first, was born.

Van Hengel told his story to "Sunday Morning" in 1981: "I think of ourselves in a funny way as someone who applied the principle of begging, and found that it was successful. There's a certain pride thing that says you wouldn't beg for yourself, but you might beg for someone else."

This is a country that donates freely - a bountiful harvest of generosity. The challenge is getting all this donated food from the warehouses to the people who need it.

Every day, those who feed the hungry come to St. Mary's to make food withdrawals.

Nicole Pena runs the Phoenix Rescue Mission. She sees the need with every day's headlines.

"We're able to look at the unemployment rate, and know that we're going to have a line," Pena said.

Volunteers pack bags all day, because all day long the hungry come for food . . . people like Susan.

"Well, I'm without a job right now, and I'm finding it difficult to find work, and plus being a senior, that makes it more difficult," she said. "We're pretty lucky to be in the country that we're in, because there are a lot of countries that don't have this.

"It just shows you that America cares about us."

And now there is another good idea driving food banks: a focus on good food.

The California Association of Food Banks recently started the "farm to family program" - volunteers gather fresh produce for food banks like one in Oakland, so the hungry can eat healthy.

Susan Bateson, who runs the operation, showed off her bounty: broccoli, Portobello mushrooms, lovely potatoes and yams, carrots.

"We serve 40,000 people every week at the Alameda County Community Food Bank," she told :Peterson. "Sadly, 14,000 of those people that we serve are children."

It's the children, more than anything else, that led singer Sheryl Crow to get involved. She wrote a new song, "All We Need," available later this month on iTunes. The proceeds will go to Feeding America.

"I think there are a lot of organizations that shine a light on different areas in the world, yet here in our own country, living amongst us, are kids who go to school who have not eaten breakfast, or don't have money for lunch, and families who are utilizing food banks, and it's not getting better with the economy the way it is," Crow said.

And so groups like Feeding America work to meet the growing need, believing that if even one American goes hungry this Sunday morning, that is one too many.

"You would only have to meet with one child who doesn't have enough food to eat, seriously," said Vicki Escarra. "Or one working mother who can only put a can of beans on the table. Or one senior citizen who's worked their whole life, and they only have a few potatoes in their kitchen to know why we feel such urgency. We don't have a choice."


For more info:
Feeding America
St. Mary's Food Bank
California Association of Food Banks
Alameda County Community Food Banks
Phoenix Rescue Mission
Check out the CBS News "Sunday Morning" Recipes Index for more tasty selections from our guests, contributors and Bon Appetit magazine!

[DeChaunac]

I was impressed by the 49 million number of hungry Americans. Gee, sounds so close to the 47 million lacking health insurance. Oh wait, they just reduced the insurance lacking number to 31 million. I'm willing to bet they'd rather have a meal than insurance. Alas! Eureka! Capital idea! Let's write a 2000 page legislation to feed America. Which is more imperative to survival?

[linfinster]

Don't send him to school with a lunch and buy him better fitting jeans ....

[ops_mgr]

It was my soup kitchen that was featured in this segment. Unless you are working in this industry most will and do not understand.

There are various reasons why people are hungry. I find it very unnerving to serve food to people that worked with at my former employer. These people at one time belonged to the middle class. Due to the economy, which has been on a down turn for approximately two years or more, these people can not find employment. Their spouses have lost their job as well. Some have been looking for two years. These people are educated and have never been in this situation. They have run out of benefits and are losing their homes. This is the new face of
hunger. I think many of the people posting comments would be very surprised if they were to visit my soup kitchen. I sincerely hope no one posting here ends up in a soup kitchen.
www.bayareahunger.org

Wishing you all well.

[billpl-2009]

I'm not buying those numbers
it's a scam to con taxpayers out of more money

35% of our kids are over weight and most of them are from the poorer half on the population

most of the charity food goes to kids of free-loader parents

who's fooling who here?

[goneagain09]

Food banks churches and food pantries are the only foods that some people get. I try to donate as often as I can. Also donate money to my regional food bank, they can get a much better price as they buy food by the truck load. Which in turn they distribute to regional churches and food pantries. In these bad economic times they are on the radio every Sunday urging people to donate. They say for every dollar they get they can feed four people one meal. People please!!! donate. We can all afford something. Even as a struggling single parent I would give. We all can afford our cell phones, nails done, dish TV, new shoes and clothes, movies, eating out, latest gadgets for our kids, a 30 pack once or twice a week, the list goes on. Most people wouldnt miss $20-30 dollars a month. Put yourself in their shoes. Wouldnt you want someone to help you. To care enough that you and you children eat.

[dontknowitall]

History repeating itself as usual. It's the Dark Ages of the 21st century. The former mighty USA with it's starving masses. Never thought I'd see this day but alas it is upon us. Our government is responsible for opening the flood gates for immigration and selling out the American people to the Chinese and Saudi's. Big business needs more money due to their lack of leadership and our government bails them out. Only to make the CEO's and corporate executives double rich. I know what side I'll be on when push comes to shove and it will not be the suits.

[bann65]

This president is doing NOTHING for the economy, but HURTING it. How dumb are we? This isn't republican versus democrat? It's about a guy, with his agenda, not giving a da*n about us taxpayers.

[dontknowitall]

Point well taken. Though a couple choices on his agenda are adding very religious muslims into key spots of Homeland Security.

[taxedmore]

There are 15 (or more) government food giveaway programs including food stamps, WIC, school lunch, etc., etc..... We are past the point of "helping" people and have reached the point of screwing those who are paying their hard earned money to feed the irresponsible. Animals have enough responsibility to stop having babies when they cannot feed them. The government has removed that responsibility from people who would rather let somebody else pay their bills.

[nowhiningallowed]

Were are the taxpayer funded breakfast and lunch meals going? They're feeding the needy kids aren't they? These numbers of fraudulent, like all of the other numbers put forth by this administration. There's plenty in churches, community centers and schools being doled out to help the so-called poor and hungry, not too mention all of the government programs designed to help these individuals. Maybe some of the parents of these kids should stop buying their cigarettes, booze, lottery tickets and cancel their cell phones. Maybe they should also try buying healthier food instead of the junk food products they live on and think is nutritional for them. Beans are a healthy substitute for protein. Canned tomatoes, fresh carrots, oatmeal and whole wheat bread aren't that expensive and much healthier food options. There are ample programs to help the needy throughout the year. Maybe this Thanksgiving, instead of the turkey and ham, consider a humbler option of say a whole baked chicken with healthy sides instead of the other empty caloric junk food items some normally devour at this time of year. Being poor also means cutting back on lifestyle. One can't continue a certain lifestyle if they haven't any means to pay for it, and taxpayers shouldn't be continually expected to keep some in a lifestyle they've become accustomed to. Live within your means or at least try to.

[ubrew12]

I was listening to Glenn Beck the other day, describing 'redistribution of wealth' as Marxism. (its not: public ownership of all wealth IS Marxism) But we've practiced 'redistribution of wealth' (i.e. progressive taxation) in this country for over 100 years, under both Republican and Democratic administrations. We simply tax the wealthy MORE than the poor, like every other democracy on the planet.

Today, the wealthiest 1% of Americans own twice as much of America as they did when Reagan became president. Wealth HAS redistributed itself in America.... upward. And I think its dangerous, not just to our economy, but to our democracy, when 1% of America owns 40% of the country (i.e. almost HALF the country), as is the situation today.

Its also interesting to note that 1% of America is homeless...