23rd Annual Feed the Community Day: The Southern California ILWU family overcame the obstacles posed by the pandemic to feed 1,500 families for Thanksgiving. An increasing number of working-class families are experiencing economic hardships caused by the COVID-related economic crisis.

The Southern California ILWU’s 23rd Annual Feed the Community Day, sponsored by Locals 13, 63, and 94, So Cal Pensioners, Auxiliary 8, and the ILWU credit union, provided 1,500 families with Thanksgiving meals during the ongoing pandemic. The ILWU continued its tradition of giving back to the community by giving away turkeys and all of the fixings for a traditional family holiday dinner.

The number of volunteers was kept to the bare minimum this year to keep in compliance with COVID -19safety guidelines, but the ILWU was still able to hand out all of the meals as planned. This year’s Feed the Community Day comes at a time when workers throughout the country are falling on hard times because of the COVID-19 driven economic crisis. According to a Census Bureau survey, one in eight Americans reported that they didn’t have enough food to eat in the past week.

The 26 million Americans struggling with food security is an increase several times greater than the most comparable pre-pandemic figure, the survey found. A Columbia University study found 8 million Americans have fallen into poverty since May as early Coronavirus relief funds dried up. Black and Latinx families were the hardest hit, the study said. Nearly 12 million renters will owe an average of $5,850 in back rent and utilities by January when eviction and rent moratoriums are set to expire, the financial analytics company Moody Analytics warns. Last month, 9 million renters said they were behind on rent, according to a Census Bureau survey.

On the other end of the spectrum, US billionaires saw their network rise by 36% from March 18 to December 7, according to a new report by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies. Their collective wealth now tops $4 trillion. “This year has been so hard on many members of our community,” said Local 13’s Katy Witowski who chairs the Holiday Events Committee. “But with generous donations from ILWU members and pensioners and the hard work of our volunteers we were able to continue the tradition of giving back to those who need a helping hand during the pandemic.”