Suburban Hunger Problems Start To Rival Needs Inside D.C.

The gift comes from Latino cuisine giant Goya Foods. In celebration of the company's 75th anniversary, Goya is giving a total of 75,000 pounds of food to 12 area food pantries.

Lynn Brantley, with Capital Area Food Bank, says much of that food is headed outside the limits of the nation's capital.

"I think a lot of the suburban areas are suffering more than even the inner city right now...a lot of people are losing homes and jobs in particular," she says. "I think Fairfax and parts of Northern Virginia have been hit very hard."

Charles Meng, with the Arlington Food Assistance Center, says that's because many of the working poor moved out of the city to work for the once booming residential construction sector, and to look for cheaper housing themselves.

But unfortunately residential construction is simply not there anymore, and is not going to come back to the level it was once before, and those people are now in the suburbs.

Meng says demand for food assistance is still rising in Arlington and could rise even more if gas prices continue to increase.