Poverty has a new address: Suburbia

There are now 2.7 million more poor households in the suburbs than in cities, thanks to long-term trends that have accelerated in the current economic downturn.

6/26/2012 10:05 AM ET

For years, the food pantry in Crystal Lake, Ill., a bedroom community 50 miles west of Chicago, has catered to the suburban area's poor, homeless and unemployed. But Cate Williams, the head of the pantry, said earlier this year that she has noticed a striking change in the makeup of the needy over the past year or two.

Some families that once pulled down six-figure incomes and drove flashy cars are turning to the pantry for help. A few of them donated food and money to the pantry before their luck soured, according to Williams.

"People will shyly say to me, 'You know, I used to give money and food to you guys. Now I need your help,'" Williams told The Fiscal Times. "Most of the folks we see now are people who never took a handout before. They were comfortable, able to feed themselves, to keep gas in the car and keep a nice roof over their head."

Suburbia always had its share of low-income families and the poor, but the sharp surge in suburban poverty is beginning to grab the attention of demographers, government officials and social service advocates.

More: http://money.msn.com/family-money/poverty-has-a-new-address-suburbia-fiscaltimes.aspx