Food Insecurity

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By Kyle Midura

Story Published: Nov 18, 2009 at 7:16 PM MST

Story Updated: Nov 19, 2009 at 9:52 AM MST

BILLINGS - Americans across the country are having a hard time affording adequate food, and officials said Billings is no exception.

The Department of Agriculture reports 'food insecurity,' first calculated in 1995, is at an all-time high. Montana Rescue Mission officials said they've been serving more people, and seeing lots of new faces.

"There are people having difficulty Saturday that have never had to think about having enough food for their family," said Women's and Family Shelter Manager Lana Janssen.

Food bank demand is high, and charitable donations are down. Officials see the biggest rush at the end of the month, when those living paycheck to paycheck have the most difficult time putting food on their tables.

Officials said getting enough good food can be hard on a limited budget, and their organization faces the same challenge.

"Our donations are down because of the recession and it is very difficult to do more with less," said Rescue Mission Spokesperson Patti Yonts, "and we are trying, but we ask the community to step up to the plate too."

Last year the rescue mission served about 1,000 dinners on Thanksgiving, this year officials said they'll far exceed that number. Organizers said they still need about 50 turkeys to meet the expected demand.

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