According to a recently released report from the U.S. Census Bureau nearly 40 million Americans live in poverty. The bleak news does not come as a surprise to leaders at Convoy of Hope.

“In talking with families who have come through our outreaches in the past few years we’ve seen that the economy has definitely hurt tens of thousands of families,” says Jeff Nene, senior director - communications and technology at Convoy of Hope. “We will continue to feed and provide assistance to hurting individuals and families through our feeding initiatives, at our citywide outreaches and through disaster response.”

Last year the nation’s official poverty rate was 13.2 percent. That’s up from 12.5 in 2007. The increase represents 2.5 million people and puts the poverty rate at the highest it’s been in more than 10 years.

“The goal of our outreaches is to meet people’s needs and give them a sense of hope,” says Nene. “Last year through our outreaches and other programs we were able to serve more than 5 million people.”

At each outreach Convoy of Hope provides guests with free health screenings, groceries, a meal, employment assistance and other services.

Doing so, Nene notes, is only possible through the support of individuals, organizations and corporations.