Heading into the food bank for my volunteer day I figured I would have the usual experience I had the last four times I had volunteered, and at first it seemed to be. The supervisor for the day greeted our group and then showed a heartfelt video about how our day of service was helping the less fortunate.

However, the video that was shown this time was different; the people that were being considered "less fortunate" were different. The video portrayed the homeless and the elderly, which were the norm for this type of production, but then an employed father of four flashed onto the screen. He had a full-time job, so did his wife, and yet they still needed help with feeding their family. They used to make enough to suffice for their well being, but because of elevated pricing and change in the economy, they need government aid to put food on the table every night. The shot then changed to a war veteran who, after returning from service, was offered no financial help and had to use the food bank's soup kitchens and pantries to survive.

It's an obvious reflection that the financial system of this nation is in shambles but I never thought I would see the day that the possibility of a blue collar worker had to stand on line at a soup kitchen to have a decent meal. The thought alone makes me cringe: I'm part of Middle America and I can't help but be frightened for my level of financial growth with this idea. Even if you do work, do the right things and think the right way you can still fall into the dreadful category of the unfortunate underprivileged.

The life that was once promised here seems like a lost dream, and there is now a large possibility that a hard working middle class American can fall into financial distress. Though these thoughts are daunting, the fact that people, before reading this piece, didn't know how much the face of the deprived has changed is even worse. There needs to be a conscious action to fix these economical problems or we will all end up on a line as the "less fortunate."

[image: Social Security Administration]