Report: More People Are Going Hungry In LA County

POSTED: 8:09 am PDT September 24, 2007

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health says that hunger is on the increase in the county.

A study by the department found that the number of households not getting enough to eat increased 17 percent between 2002 and 2005. That amounts to approaching half a million families.

The study looked at what the department calls "food insecurity" which refers to limited or uncertain access to adequate nutrition.

It has been blamed for chronic illnesses as well as obesity, mental illness, depression and children's poor performance in school.

Public health officials have largely attributed the jump in food insecurity to the rising number of low-wage workers including immigrants who live in a region saddled with a high cost of living.

As more families need help putting balanced meals on the table, the food bank, which supplies shelters, pantries and soup kitchens with food, has seen federal donations of surplus food drop from 24 million pounds in 2002 to 15 million last year, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

"Demand is increasing," said Michael Flood, president of the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank, quoted in the Times report. "This is a huge hit for us."

The hunger report released on Friday was based on results of the 2002-03 and 2005 county health surveys, accrding to the Times. The 2005 random telephone survey solicited information from 8,600 adults and 6,000 children across the county.

Copyright 2007 by KNBC.com and KNBC (NBC4 Los Angeles). All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.knbc.com/news/14189874/detai ... a&psp=news