Making Ends Meet

There is growing concern that a large segment of low-income Americans are slipping through or not adequately served by the public food assistance safety net. Many of these individuals are turning to the private network of food pantries and soup kitchens for their nourishment. Of particular note is that a significant percentage of those individuals seeking private food assistance are the working poor. In this paper, we look at the characteristics of a sample of employed Virginia households who depend on soup kitchens or food pantries to help them make ends meet. Our data indicate that these individuals have demographic characteristics that do not bode well for their being able to earn wages that are high enough to allow them all to adequately meet basic family needs without some type of additional supports.