With the price of gas soaring, grocery prices doubling and cost of living at all-time highs, Americans everywhere have been forced to ration in order to survive. For some, this may mean skipping that extra trip to the salon; for others, it may mean keeping those pair of shoes that you would have been tossed due to the tiny black smudge on the left side. For the growing numbers, the recession has been a time to take out their killer instincts in an effort to stay alive.
According to the hunger study done by hungerinamerica.org, in Fresno alone, an estimated 68% of people live below the poverty line. About 169,400 fellow citizens rely on food banks such as the Community Food Bank in Fresno annually. Out of those people, approximately 38% are under the age of 18, and 7% are in their elderly years.
Faustina Torres is one student that is currently dealing with the financial crisis.
Even before the recession began, her mother and incapacitated brother were already struggling to make ends meet.
Once the recession hit, however, Torres was forced to seek another job that allowed her to pitch in with the living cost. Torres says that in her neighborhood, crime is definitely increasing as people without jobs have to consider other methods to make money.She lives on the eastern side of town where she says prostitution and drug consumption happen on a regular basis.
“The stress of work and school is overbearing sometimes, but I have to motivate myself if I want to sleep in my bed another night,” Torres said.
Her mother, who lives paycheck-to-paycheck is currently struggling to keep up rent and is becoming more weary with time.According to Torres, things aren’t getting much easier. Torres mentioned that dropping out of school would be an option as her family’s well-being came before hers.
“Even though I don’t want to, I might have to drop out of school. Everything is just way too expensive,” she said.
Another student that is currently struggling with the recession is Victor Parra.
Working in landscaping during the day, he goes to school mid-day and then returns home to his working parents and younger brother. Although they do not make extravagant amounts of money, Parra’s family does not qualify for various programs offered by the government such as WIC or Food Stamps, making it somewhat of a challenge to purchase everything for a family of four.
“My family eats lots of canned foods. We look out for specials and we buy only what we need,” Parra said.
For these two individuals, the recession has cost many commodities.
For Torres, school is considered her pot of gold that she might have to give up while for Parra, feeding his family is constantly on the back of his mind.
“My friends worry about missing a football game on T.V. or not buying the latest video game while I worry about having enough to buy some dinner for my little brother,” Parra said.
Although more and more people are under stress and financial woes, the numbers aren’t going down. A staggering 47% of people are still being left to make a choice between food and utilities while another 30% must choose between housing and food.
For individuals like Parra and Torres, all that is left to do is wait and hope that things will take a turn for the better.
