Grim footage shows lines of cars stretching miles outside of a Guelph grocery bank as crowds of desperate Americans line up for hours across the country amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Thousands of cars were seen on the street for groceries to be distributed by the Guelph Regional Food Bank at the Forum Arena in Inglewood over the weekend.
More than two million people in California have applied for unemployment benefits since mid-March when the coronavirus spread rapidly in the United States.
In other scenes across the country, hundreds of people have queued in their cars in the past few days on Tuesday to get free food from the Feeding South Florida Food Bank in Opa-Locka.
About 10,000 families stood in their cars for hours in a grocery bank in San Antonio, Texas, and cars stood more than a mile on a drive-up grocery bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania over the weekend.
Crowds were seen huddled outside a soup kitchen in New York City in the rain on Monday, despite the city’s social distancing guidelines.
The coronavirus outbreak has left at least 16.8 million Americans jobless since mid-March as tough measures to fight the coronavirus abruptly brought the country’s economy to a standstill.
CALIFORNIA: Thousands of cars were seen on the street over the weekend to receive food to be distributed by the Guelph Regional Food Bank at the Forum Arena in Inglewood
CALIFORNIA: More than two million people in California have applied for unemployment benefits since mid-March when the coronavirus spread rapidly in the United States
Food banks across the country have warned they are grappling with the huge increase in Americans in need of food as the number of unemployed from coronavirus continues to rise.
Non-profit groups and aid agencies say they are striving to keep pace with the unprecedented demand for food and other staples at emergency distribution sites in dozens of cities.
Eric Cooper, CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank, told NBCs Today Monday that current demand is the worst he has had in its 25-year history with the organization.
Last Thursday, around 10,000 families lined up in their cars for hours at a massive SAFB sales event called the Mega Giveaway.
“We were overwhelmed and overwhelmed by the need in the community over COVID-19,” said Cooper.
“We usually feed around 60,000 a week. The need has grown to 120,000 people a week and we are working as hard as possible to meet that need. ‘
He said people queuing in their cars included hotel workers, Uber drivers and others whose work location has been closed due to the pandemic.
Cooper said many of those who came to the food bank’s locations had never had to contact the organization.
“Your last paycheck expired and there is just no other place,” he said. “You may know the food bank from volunteering, but you never had to ask for help.
“This is the case with food banks across the country. We are one of 200 food banks in the Feeding America Food Bank network.
“All of my colleagues in other cities have trouble eating enough to meet the needs of this line. It was overwhelming. ‘
FLORIDA: Volunteers from South Florida deliver bags of food to the residents of Opa-Locka in a food distribution facility
FLORIDA: Volunteers put groceries in waiting cars in Florida on Tuesday amid the coronavirus pandemic
FLORIDA: Hundreds of people lined up in their cars Tuesday to receive free food from the Feeding South Florida Food Bank in Opa-Locka
KENTUCKY: A Highpoint Charitable Services volunteer registers hundreds of families waiting in line for food donations at a grocery bank in LaGrange on Monday
KENTUCKY: Amee D’Amico, the executive director of Highpoint Charitable Services, directs traffic while hundreds of local families line up to donate groceries to the cars of families in need at a food bank in LaGrange
When asked if SAFB has enough food, volunteers, and money to keep the Mega Giveaway efforts going, Cooper said, “We really need all three. We fight to keep up. Our stocks are going fast.
Hundreds of people lined up in the rain Monday to receive a free meal at the Bowery Mission in Manhattan. The line that led to the homeless charity snaked around the block as volunteers tried to enforce social distancing.
Meal distribution traffic at the Bowery Mission has doubled in the past week – a startling indication of growing food insecurity in New York City.
The Bowery Mission served around 60,000 meals on Easter Sunday alone, and organizers believe demand will continue to rise.
Cars parked for a mile in Pennsylvania when the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank held a drive-through distribution event last Friday with enough supplies for 1,300 families.
The employees of the Guelph International Airport were invited to a specially organized food bank last Friday, DailyMail.com reported exclusively. At least 5,000 cars were expected at the event, according to Michael Flood, President and CEO of LA Food Bank.
In Miramar, Florida, the line of cars outside of a giveaway from Feeding South Florida and Farm Share Food Distribution has been extended by five miles.
According to the latest figures from the Department of Labor, there were 6.6 million new claims for unemployment benefit in the United States in the first week of April.
NEW YORK: People wait in line in the rain on Monday for lunch at the Bowery Mission in Manhattan
NEW YORK: The lines outside of the Bowery missions stretched around the block as volunteers reminded people of social distance
CALIFORNIA: Anaheim horse riding officers monitor the traffic of people waiting in their cars during an Easter food distribution at the Honda Center on Sunday
CALIFORNIA: A volunteer directs traffic through the grocery store at the Honda Center in Anaheim during an Easter ride
TEXAS: Last week, about 10,000 families stood in their cars for hours in a food bank in San Antonio, Texas
This number of initial applications added to the more than 10 million applications that were submitted in the last two weeks of March.
California leads the country with the highest number of new jobless claims. More than two million people sign up in just three weeks.
Pennsylvania has seen more than a million new claims.
The states with the next highest number of claims include New York (791,840), Texas (745,443), Ohio (694,779), New Jersey (535,965), and Georgia (534,135).
Illinois (493,475), Washington (489,585), Massachusetts (469,457), and North Carolina (403,801) reported more than 400,000 new claims.
Congress, the Trump administration, and the Federal Reserve have carried out the largest financial intervention in history in the past few weeks to help America survive the crisis.
It includes expanding unemployment benefits, soliciting health insurance for some, distributing checks for $ 1,200 to individuals, and allocating rescue aid to employers.
The bailout plan extended unemployment benefits to part-time and gig workers like Uber drivers for the first time.
It added $ 600 a week to existing state unemployment benefits, but states have been inundated with unemployment benefit claims and are struggling to deliver the new federal aid.
As the International Monetary Fund predicted on Tuesday, the global economy is likely to suffer the worst year since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
Downed by the coronavirus outbreak, the global economy will contract 3 percent in 2020 – far worse than the 0.1 percent decline in the 2009 Great Recession – before recovering with 5.8 percent growth in 2021.
NEW YORK: People are given free groceries in the Community League of the Heights pantry on Saturday
NEW YORK: People lined up on Saturday to get free meals and groceries from the Community League of the Heights pantry
LOUISIANA: Volunteers in New Orleans deliver groceries to the homeless over the weekend
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