ALBANY (AP) -- While the federal government continues to bail out Wall Street, and Congress grapples with the next stimulus package, the pitiful economy is forcing more families to seek help from food pantries and soup kitchens to avoid going hungry.
Mark Dunlea, the assistant manager for the Hunger Action Network of New York State, says the state has seen a dramatic and unprecedented upsurge in the demand for emergency food in the past six months.
One food bank in Albany saw the number of people seeking a meal through their breakfast program more than double from 65 people fed daily in 2007 to 140 in 2008.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported earlier this month 691,000 children went hungry across the country some time in 2007 - before this year's economic downturn.
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