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Thanksgiving ahead - but food shortages increase in US towns

There has been a significant increase in the last three weeks in the number of stories coming out of the USA highlighting the problems and shortages facing the country's foodbanks. As times get tougher, more and more people are turning to foodbanks for help - some are reporting increases of up to 40%. Here is an example of a typical situation as described in one of the many reports.  Other reports in the last week indicate that 2007 saw 36.2 million US citizens wondering where their next meal would be coming from, a pretty shocking statistic for somewhere often referred to as the richest country on the planet. One of the many articles on this subject, sparked by a new report by the US Department of Agriculture, was written by James Thalman and gives a fairly rounded picture of the research.

Last month, World Food Day produced statistics that indicated nearly one billion people worldwide were without sufficient food. The financial crisis left Iceland with some very worrying weeks
and predictions in October suggested that similar food shortages would follow elsewhere - and soon.  As the credit crunch starts to bite and the price of food continues to rise, I suspect foodbanks in many countries are going to struggle to cope.  Personally, as Thanksgiving looms, I hope that things improve sufficiently for our neighbours in America to the point where so many of them don't have to worry where the next meal will come from.