WASHINGTON (AFP) — The biggest US cities are struggling to meet the needs of the hungry and homeless, despite generating most of the country's wealth, a survey published Monday showed.
"Although 87 percent of our nation's wealth is generated in our cities, hunger and homelessness persist in most of our country's cities and urban centers," Douglas Palmer, the head of the US Conference of Mayors, said in a statement to coincide with the publication of the annual survey.
Twelve of the 23 cities that took part in the Hunger and Homelessness Survey said they turn away needy people some or all of the time.
All the cities that took part -- including Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and Philadelphia -- said 15 percent of needy households with children do not receive aid.
Nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of America's urban homeless are families with children, the survey showed.
Lack of affordable housing was cited most often as the reason why a family with children found itself on the streets.
The most commonly reported causes of hunger were poverty, the high cost of housing and unemployment.
Four out of five of the polled cities said the demand for food aid grew by 12 percent from November last year to October, and 19 cities said they expect demand to rise even more next year.
Also contributing to the hunger and homeless crisis in the United States were the "recent spike in foreclosures, the increased cost of living in general and the increased cost of food," the report said.
"This report underscores the fact that issues of poverty in this country are often inter-related," said Frank Cownie, co-chair of the Conference of Mayors' task force on hunger and homelessness.
According to the US Census Bureau, around one in 10 Americans, or 36.5 million people, live in poverty in the United States, nearly 13 million of them children.
The number of homeless people in the United States is estimated to be around 700,000.
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