That's one in eight Americans -- one in five of them children -- who received emergency food help last year, up 46% from 2005.
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The figures came last week from Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger-relief group.
A record number of Americans are receiving food stamps -- 33.7 million last year. President Barack Obama, who has set a goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015, proposed in his budget Monday to add $1 billion annually to school-based food programs.
Feeding America based its report on 61,000 interviews with people seeking food aid and 37,000 surveys of food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters and other programs affiliated with Feeding America food banks.
More than a third of those interviewed said they had to choose between food and other necessities, including rent, utilities and health care.
SOURCE: Freep.com
