WATCH: National headlines from ABC News
By Radhika Chalasani & Ivan Pereira
Food banks have seen a spike in demand since the pandemic struck. In communities across the country, millions of Americans -- even those who are employed -- are becoming more food insecure. A report issued last month by the nonprofit Feeding America found that 1 in 6 people (more than 50 million) could face food insecurity in 2020, defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as "a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life." Before the pandemic left millions of families without stable employment, more than 35 million Americans struggled with hunger. The expiration of federal assistance programs has added to the crisis.
Images from across the country show long lines and people waiting hours for donated food to feed their families. Food banks are struggling to keep up with the demand. According to Feeding America, 80% of food banks are serving more people than they were this time last year with many people visiting food banks for the first time. Feeding South Florida is getting only about 10% of the food they were receiving in March at the beginning of the pandemic and funding will soon be slashed in half.
New York
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
People wait in line for a Thanksgiving food distribution event at Food Bank For New York City in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, on Nov. 16, 2020. Food Bank For New York City partnered with Stop & Shop and WBLS' The Steve Harvey Morning Show to give away turkeys, holiday boxes, and fresh produce to families in Harlem for Thanksgiving.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Food Bank For New York City
La Jornada and Food Bank For New York City distribute turkeys to 4,000 families in need at The New York Hall Of Science on Nov. 22, 2020 in Queens, New York.
California
Mike Blake/Reuters
Cars line-up as the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank distributes food outside a church during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Los Angeles, Nov. 19, 2020.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
People wait in line to receive food at the Bay Area Rescue Mission's Thanksgiving Giveaway in Richmond, Calif. on Nov. 24, 2020.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
A person hands over a turkey at the Bay Area Rescue Mission's Thanksgiving Giveaway in Richmond, Calif. on Nov. 24, 2020.
Florida
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Residents line up in their cars at a food distribution site at Lake-Sumter State College sponsored by the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and local churches in Clermont, Fla., Nov. 11, 2020.
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Volunteers distribute turkeys and other food assistance to the needy at a food distribution site at Lake-Sumter State College sponsored by the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and local churches in Clermont, Fla. With the approach of Thanksgiving, thousands of families in the Orlando area are in need of food assistance due to COVID-19 related layoffs in the tourist industry and the expiration of supplemental federal unemployment benefits.
With the approach of Thanksgiving, thousands of families in the Orlando area are in need of food assistance due to COVID-19-related layoffs in the tourist industry and the expiration of supplemental federal unemployment benefits.
Lynne Sladky/AP
Colorado Rockies pitcher Yency Almonte passes out Thanksgiving meals to youth at the Boys & Girls Club of Miami-Dade County in Florida, Nov. 19, 2020.
Texas
Tony Gutierrez/AP
Soldier from the U.S. Army 36th Infantry Division help distribute turkeys and other holiday food items during a Tarrant Area Food Bank mobile pantry event in Arlington, Texas, Nov. 20, 2020. Over 5,000 families received the holiday food items during the event that took place in a parking lot outside AT&T Stadium. (AP
Over 5,000 families received holiday food items during the event that took place in a parking lot outside AT&T Stadium in Austin, Texas.
Tony Gutierrez/AP
Volunteer Henry Fillmore of Arlington, Texas, places a frozen turkey in to the trunk of a vehicle during a Tarrant Area Food Bank mobile pantry distribution event in Arlington, Texas, Nov. 20, 2020. Thanksgiving holiday food items were distributed to over 5,000 families during the event that took place in a parking lot outside AT&T Stadium.
Jordan Vonderhaar/Shutterstock
Volunteers for the Central Texas Food Bank load food into vehicles at a food distribution event in Austin, Texas, Nov. 23, 2020.
Iowa
Jack Kurtz/Zuma
A child volunteering at a food distribution carries bags of food to people in line during a Thanksgiving food distribution at a park in Des Moines, Iowa during a snowstorm, Nov. 23, 2020. The food distribution was organized by Urban Dreams, a community empowerment NGO in central Des Moines, and the NAACP. The Food Bank of Iowa said food insecurity in Des Moines has doubled since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The food distribution was organized by Urban Dreams, a community empowerment NGO in central Des Moines, Iowa, and the NAACP. The Food Bank of Iowa said food insecurity in Des Moines has doubled since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Illinois
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images
People wait in line to receive a free turkey on behalf of Chance The Rapper charitable foundation SocialWorks ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in Chicago, on Nov. 23, 2020.
Utah
Rick Bowmer/AP
A volunteer carries food to waiting cars at the Utah Food Bank's mobile food pantry, Nov. 12, 2020, in West Valley City, Utah.
Massachusetts
Boston Globe via Getty Images
Children react as Santa visits The Salvation Army's food pantry at Manning Field in Lynn, Mass. to spread a little holiday cheer on Nov. 16, 2020. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the food pantry served an average of 60 families a day. That number has increased to over 600 families daily as more residents face financial hardship and food insecurity.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, The Salvation Army's food pantry at Manning Field in Lynn, Massachusetts, served an average of 60 families a day. That number has increased to over 600 families daily as more residents face financial hardship and food insecurity.
Indiana
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Drivers wait in line up as Pantry 279 food bank to distributes Thanksgiving meals at Hoosier Hills food bank in Bloomington, Indiana, Nov. 11,2020.
New Jersey
Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters
A volunteer moves an "out of food" sign during the Meadowlands Area YMCA and the Community Food Bank of New Jersey food drive ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, during the COVID-19 pandemic, in East Rutherford, N.J., Nov. 24, 2020.