Why are so many people in Oregon and Clark County, Washington, hungry?
Growing levels of long-term unemployment have forced more and more people to seek emergency food assistance. 28 percent of adult emergency food box recipients are unemployed and looking for work, compared to only 20 percent in 2008.
For the first time ever, the OFB Network distributed more than 1 million emergency food boxes in fiscal year 2010-11.
More than 73 percent of households receiving emergency food report incomes below the federal poverty level - $22,050 for a family of four.
A basic family budget — enough to cover the essential needs for a family of four — was $45,274 in 2007, while a full time job at Oregon's 2010 minimum wage provided only $17,500.
