The number of Americans struggling to put food on the table has skyrocketed since the Great Recession. Today, at least one in eight depends on food pantries, soup kitchens and other emergency assistance to meet their nutritional needs, according to Ross Fraser, spokesperson of Feeding America, a non-profit hunger relief organization.
In July, we asked clients of two Philadelphia-area food pantries - one in an economically depressed section of the city, the other in an affluent suburb - to explain what brought them there and how they stay positive during tough economic times. Click on the slideshow above to see their stories.
Editor's note: Where are you seeing poverty “in plain sight?” Send your photos and/or thoughts using the hashtag #inplainsight on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook & Google+.
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