Food Pantries, Food Banks see Increased use by Seniors

Food pantries and food banks nationwide are seeing a significant increase in visits by senior citizens hit hard by the recession. Many of the elderly who formerly were donors and/or volunteers for these organizations find that they are now, reluctantly for many, using them as a lifeline as rising food prices and depleted savings are hitting them hard. USDA statistics show that 4.7 million American households used food pantries in 2008, up from 3.7 million two years earlier. Those statistics also show 408,000 seniors living alone used food pantries in 2008, an increase of 81% from 2006.