In January, we found out that 20 percent of Greensboro’s population — that’s one in five people — live in poverty.

Soon after, we learned area food banks were being drained dry.

And it just gets worse.

According to a recent report, 25 percent of Greensboro and High Point families said they struggled to feed themselves — or their families.

The survey, which was conducted by Gallup for the Food Research and Action Center, ranked both cities — a pairing determined by the U.S. Census Bureau — fourth nationally in the number of people who say they don’t have enough money for food. For those who work in local shelters and soup kitchens, bad news about the economy’s toll on area residents — many of them in need for the first time — has become commonplace.

Still, the Rev. Mike Aiken, executive director of Greensboro Urban Ministry, was shaken.

“I knew the situation was bad,” Aiken said by phone Friday. “I’m stunned that we were that bad.”

But, he added, “bad is bad. It doesn’t matter what your rank is.”

North Carolina had two other cities in the top 10. Winston-Salem was ranked third and Asheville was seventh.

Overall, the state had the nation’s sixth-highest rate of food hardship. Mississippi was first, followed by Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina and Louisiana.

“My God. It’s hard to believe,” said Craig Thomas, executive director of Mary’s House, a Greensboro shelter for women and children. “I’ve never seen the number of people distressed — ever.

“When we disintegrate to such a degree that we can’t feed our children, we’ve got to take a look at ourselves.”

If we did, we might not like what we see.

Studies have shown that North Carolina’s minimum wage — $6.55 an hour — barely covers half the amount needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment, to say nothing of food.

The state has 443,000 children living in poverty, according to The National Center on Family Homelessness. Of those, 18,597 become homeless each year — one out of every 25 — with 1,717 currently living in Guilford County.

Thomas said there’s not a day that goes by when she doesn’t get a call — or several — from people in need of a meal or place to stay.

Thing is, many of them had made donations just last year.

“This can’t be ignored,” she said. “We have to get off that list. Each one of those figures represents a child.”

Contact Mike Kernels at 373-7120 or mike.kernels@news-record.com