Thread by @InsideEdition

As millions of Americans are reeling from unprecedented loss because of the coronavirus pandemic, @DeborahHasting8 reports on overwhelmed food banks, where many are waiting for hours and sometimes overnight to receive sustenance for their families. THREAD:
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1/ In record numbers not seen since the Great Depression, more and more families have stepped forward to accept help in the form of food.
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2/ According to a recent study, one in three families with children don't have enough to eat. Most federal benefits, like $600 weekly unemployment checks, have expired, while a new COVID-19 stimulus bill is currently awaiting President Trump’s signature.
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3/ The latest aid package is a $900 billion bill that would grant $600 checks to individuals, and was immediately criticized as being too little. It would also send $400 million to deluged food banks, an amount also considered by many as being not enough.
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4/ “We’re now seeing families who had an emergency fund but it’s gone and they’re at the end of their rope. We’re going to be doing this for a really long time, …”
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5/ “…and that’s frankly terrifying given the impact hunger has on physical health, learning and development for children and parents’ stress." – Kristin Warzocha, @CleFoodBank
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6/ @FeedingAmerica, the country's largest food relief network, reports dispensing a record number of meals — 4.2 billion from March to October, and has experienced a 60% increase in users, and nearly half that number had never asked for help before.
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7/ In Texas, food bank administrators fear they may have to ration supplies to keep from running out of food. In other states, volunteers have had to post signs saying their food banks had nothing left on their shelves as hundreds waited in line.
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8/ “Food insecurity is twice as high as before the pandemic. We’ve had a lot of federal aid and that’s all going away at the end of the year…”
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9/ “…We are facing a kind of a food cliff and we are worried of how long we are going to be able to keep up with demand without the help of the federal government.” – Celia Cole, @FeedingTexas
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10/ In Southern California, a temporary drive-through was opened to distribute food for the holiday. In three hours, some 2,000 families had already made their way through the line, according Michael Flood @LAFoodBank.
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11/ Through its 700 partner agencies, @LAFoodBank is now serving 900,000 people per month. Last year's monthly total was 350,000.
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12/ “If you told me in January, 'Your distribution is going to increase 145% and you’ll be reaching 900,000 people per month by the fall,' I would have said, ‘I don’t think so.’ But that’s what’s happened.” – Michael Flood, @LAFoodBank
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For @DeborahHasting8’s full story Hunger for the Holidays: Food Banks Overwhelmed by Families in Need as Coronavirus Federal Funds Run Low:
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