Over the past month, the American economy has collapsed into a depression, with the most significant unemployment spike in history. Millions of people have just lost their jobs, and as we’ve been documenting, food bank networks across the country are becoming overwhelmed.
We recently said that some food banks had seen an eightfold increase in the number of people asking for food. The National Guard has been deployed to food banks in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Phoenix, to make sure supply chains do not breakdown, which if food shortages did materialize, it could lead to a “social bomb,” triggering civil unrest.
“I’ve been in this business over 30 years, and nothing compares to what we’re seeing now. Not even when the steel mills closed down did we see increased demand like this,” said Sheila Christopher, director of Hunger-Free Pennsylvania, which represents 18 food banks across 67 counties.
Today’s food bank lines resemble ‘breadlines’ from the 1930s. However, this time around, Americans are not standing around city blocks waiting for soup, they’re sitting in mile-long traffic jams outside donation centers waiting for a care package.
