[NEWS] Requests for shelter and food rise in Phila.

From Philly.com: 

In a holiday week often synonymous with abundance, Philadelphia reported a dearth of food and housing options for its most vulnerable residents.

Requests in Philadelphia for emergency food assistance rose 7 percent over the past year, according to a national report on hunger and homelessness made public Tuesday.

At the same time, food pantries and emergency kitchens in the city had to reduce the amount of food distributed, and an estimated 10 percent of demand for food assistance went unmet. (In 2014, the city reported 20 percent of demand went unmet.)

Chronic homelessness in Philadelphia nearly doubled from last year.

The findings were included in the latest annual U.S. Conference of Mayors Hunger and Homelessness Survey. The survey of 22 cities covered information from Sept. 1, 2014, to Aug. 31 of this year.

This is the 33d year the conference has done the study.

Half the cities included in the survey reported that requests for food increased, and two-thirds said they had to turn people away from pantries and shelters because of a lack of resources.

"There's a much broader effort but also a greater need," said Marie S. Nahikian, director of Philadelphia's Supportive Housing Office. "Also, as you broaden your efforts, you find more people who need help."