The wealthiest nation on earth has 26 million people who can’t get enough to eat.  An analysis by The Washington Post found:

More Americans are going hungry now than at any point during the deadly coronavirus pandemic, according to a Post analysis of new federal data — a problem created by an economic downturn that has tightened its grip on millions of Americans and compounded by government relief programs that expired or will terminate at the end of the year. Experts say it is likely that there’s more hunger in the United States today than at any point since 1998, when the Census Bureau began collecting comparable data about households’ ability to get enough food.

No place has been hit harder than the largest city in Texas.

More than 1 in 5 adults in Houston reported going hungry recently, including 3 in 10 adults in households with children. The growth in hunger rates has hit Hispanic and Black households harder than White ones, a devastating consequence of a weak economy that has left so many people trying to secure food even during dangerous conditions.

This week, we’ve seen videos from all over the country with people waiting in line for hours to get food.

Today on CNN, restauranteur Tom Colicchio remarked:

“If I was watching this on CNN, I would think I was looking at a third world country. Yet this is America and we have chosen to do nothing about this right now. And it’s great that you’re depicting stories of people who are helping right now and people want to help around the holiday season, but the people they are helping, they are going to be hungry tomorrow and the next day and the next day and it’s not going to be Thanksgiving. So we need massive government help right now.” 

The Brookings Institution writes:

One of the most striking and consistent indicators of ongoing hardship is an elevated level of food insecurity in American households. Food insecurity sits at the intersection of the economy and health; it is measure that a household lacks sufficient resources to provide adequate nutrition to its members.

Slate reports: Over 43 million families now rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and another 6.4 million rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). These federally funded programs, administered by state and local governments, help low-income families and their children put food on the table. 

Watch more from PBS above.