Millions of people across the U.S. will tuck into roast turkey and mashed potatoes followed by slices of pecan and pumpkin pie on Thursday as the country celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday. But for many in the land of milk and honey – so dubbed by the immigrants who came to America's shores looking for opportunity – having enough food has been a real struggle this year, with the recent coronavirus resurgence only making things worse. Hunger, or food insecurity, ticked up markedly during the pandemic and has been rising again in the past few weeks as renewed shutdowns lead to more unemployment and lost income. Before the pandemic, 18% of Black Americans reported sometimes or often not having enough to eat, compared to 6% of White Americans. That number has surged to 22% now for Black Americans and 8.8% for White Americans, according to the Census Bureau. Although the U.S. introduced several programs to tackle food insecurity during the pandemic, including one where the government bought food from farmers and sent it to nonprofits for distribution to those in need, many are set to expire at the end of the year, if they haven't already. Pointing to their effectiveness, researchers are calling on the government to do more to bolster these programs. Lawmakers in Congress haven't been able to pass another stimulus bill, however, and prospects for one before the end of the year look dim. Americans who may not have a turkey on the table this week might potentially go without one at Christmas as well. |
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