Recession has taken its toll on a sizable part of the United States, decidedly the epicenter of an economic distress crippling all other countries. On account of this, the nonprofit organization Feed The Children thought up “Americans Feeding Americans Emergency Caravan.”

On the program’s second stop, Feed The Children distributed free food at Elkhart, Indiana, which ranks among America’s most recession-ridden cities. On March 2009, more than 1,600 families showed up and availed of the aid, with 3,600 more receiving them via special delivery across the eponymous county.

Feed the Children mobilized 13 trucks and 300 volunteers for the food distribution. Combined, the food in the semitrailers was worth more than $2 million, enough to nourish over 5,000 families all week. The charity also provided boxes of toilet paper and other essentials.

These are despondent times for the US, where a tide of layoffs and job terminations is cresting. In Elkhart alone, the unemployment rate hovered at over 18 percent. Unsurprisingly, the roads leading to the shopping mall, whence Feed The Children distributed relief, were jammed with cars.

Frances and Larry Jones founded Feed The Children in 1979. It is primarily a relief charity, offsetting disconnects in nutrition whenever natural and manmade disasters hits a nation. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the organization runs largely on private donations.

Operation Family Fund is a private, nonprofit organization that aids sailors, soldiers, airmen, and their families. Though it receives support from private corporations and individuals, Operation Family Fund does not receive financial aid from the government.

Operation Family Fund has declared that their objective is “to assist the injured and families of those who have been injured or killed as part of the Global War on Terrorism, whether domestic or abroad, military or civilian, with financial grants for transitioning to their new circumstances and achieving financial self-sufficiency.”

Operation Family Fund is acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Defense. The organization has helped more than 240 military personnel and their relatives. They have also raised more than $1.4 million in donations from the American citizenry. One of their donors is Dr. Laura Schlessinger who is an active supporter of the Fund. Schlessinger, who was once a professional counselor, is a New York Times Bestselling Author and the host of the popular The Dr. Laura Program, which is being broadcast throughout America through Premiere Radio Networks. In her widely-listened radio show she offers advice to callers using a frank and blunt approach that has become the show’s trademark.

Recently, Dr. Laura Schlessinger set up a Necklace Collection Benefit and Birthday Party. The Secretary England and Operation Family fund awarded Schlessinger an OSD award for her fundraising endeavors. Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s efforts bolstered Operation Family Fund’s financial resources by over $1 million.