These are painful statistics to consider, particularly around this time of year: One is six Americans — including nearly one child in four — did not have enough to eat last year.

A report released last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed that in 2008, 17 million children were part of households where food was scarce — 4 million more than the previous year. The number of keiki who outright went hungry jumped from 700,000 to almost 1.1 million. And more than 16 percent of Americans — 49 million people — ran short of food compared with 12 percent last year. These are the highest levels of food shortages and hunger in the report's 14-year history.

Soaring poverty and record unemployment have surely pushed many to the margins. And the new study underscores just how high the toll can be during a long and deep recession.

President Obama called the study "unsettling" and promised a renewed effort to fight childhood hunger in America by 2015.

But given rising national unemployment rates, that may prove to be a lofty goal. Obama rightly points to job creation as the cornerstone to any solution to end hunger. Increases in food stamp benefits, and a new $85 million program that would look at feeding more children during the critical summer months, when they lose the safety net provided by the free and reduced-priced breakfast and lunch programs in schools, is a sensible course.

And the problem extends beyond the jobless. The number of under-employed working in low-wage jobs who struggle to put food on the table is also on the rise. A separate federal study conducted prior to the recession showed that more than two-thirds of families whose children were "food insecure" included at least one full-time worker, The New York Times reported.

However, reaching people through government-subsidized programs is only part of the picture. Last year nearly 5 million households relied on private food banks and pantries — almost a million more than last year, studies show.

Here at home, the nonprofit Hawaii Foodbank has seen record numbers of Isle residents in need of food. Unfortunately, said Foodbank spokeswoman Lori Kaya, the spate of recent layoffs and labor cutbacks has resulted in a surge of new clients in need of help.

The Foodbank's 245-member agencies are serving twice as many people as last year. "These new people are people that they've never seen at their agencies before; these are first-time users who need food.

"The 211 social services hotline has seen a 30 percent increase in calls for emergency food," Kaya said. "Because we're aware of the increased need for food in the community, we're just working harder to get the food and the money in."

The spike in need for food is also acute among our seniors. This Thanksgiving, Lanakila Meals on Wheels hopes to meet its goal of delivering 800 meals to O'ahu's seniors living on the economic edge.

"At any given time we can have about 300 seniors on our waiting list, and the need is ever growing — we have seniors calling us every day to get onto our program," said Brandon Mitsuda, deputy director of Lanakila Meals on Wheels.

These days in particular, the face of hunger is changing. Families. Seniors. Or a neighbor recently unemployed. With just a few days before the Thanksgiving holiday — whether it's canned goods, cash, or your time — now is the time to donate. Let's do our part to end hunger in Hawai'i.