Many cities cannot meet the demand for food and shelter for homeless residents, according to the Washington-based U.S. Conference of Mayors' (USCM) 2007 Hunger and Homelessness Survey released Dec. 17. More than half of the 23 cities that responded to the survey said they had to turn away people seeking assistance some or all of the time.

This year's survey, available at www.usmayors.org, showed that more than 80 percent of the respondents had seen an increase in requests for emergency food assistance in the past year. A lack of affordable housing was cited as a major cause of both homelessness and hunger. USCM and Gaithersburg, Md.-based food provider Sodexho have conducted the survey for the past 21 years.