1 in 8 Americans went hungry last year, how many 2009 ?

CNN Senior National Editor

The young man, wearing a shirt and a tie, turned up just as the pantry operated by an Iowa food bank was closing for the night.

He knew it was after-hours. That’s why he was there.

He kept his gaze downward as he told the woman from the food bank that he had lost his job, had a wife and kids and was too embarrassed and ashamed to stand in line to receive a bag of groceries that hopefully would feed his family for a week.

I have a master’s degree. I shouldn’t have to do this, he said.

I heard this story last December, a few weeks before the Iowa presidential caucus.

Throughout this election season I talked with professionals and volunteers at food banks and pantries across the country.

The refrain was the same from Oregon to South Carolina, from Maine to Texas: Demand was rising, easily outstripping supply.

More and more new faces were standing in line; not looking anyone else in the eye, hoping not to be recognized by friends or neighbors.

The bitter irony for some was that once they had contributed to their local food bank. Now they needed its help.

These people did not fit the stereotype of who comes to a pantry, a shelter or a kitchen.

A lost job, an unexpected medical expense, a utility bill or difficulty paying the rent or mortgage - especially during a period of high food prices - any of these can push people into that line.

The freshest statistics, covering 2007, were served up this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

An estimated 36.2 million people struggled with some form of hunger (or, to use the government term, “food insecurity.”)

That’s 12.2 percent of the population – one in eight Americans.

Among them . . . some 691,000 children.

That was last year.

We know what direction the economic arrows point this year.

When he takes office next year, President-elect Obama will have a menu full of priorities.

There should be room for hunger on his plate.