Program feeds record number

Joseph Cavanaugh, economics professor at Wright State University-Lake Campus in Celina, said the most recent recession is having lasting affects on many.

“The latest economic downturn has been unusually severe and long,” he said.

Unemployment and the number of families in need always spikes upward in recessions but families remain vulnerable for much longer, he said.

“This is because many of the newly unemployed have savings and other assets that allow them to avoid asking for help at the beginning of a recession. When the economy turns around and the unemployment rate falls, the opposite occurs,” he said.