Hungry Americans line up outside soup kitchens - Video

In New York City, long lines outside soup kitchens and food pantries have been around for so long that they have become part of the urban landscape.

Those lines, shameful enough for one of the world's richest cities, far from getting shorter, keep growing at a frightening pace.

New research from the Food Bank for New York City reveals that a majority of food pantries and soup kitchens experienced a tremendous increase in the number of people seeking assistance following the $5-billion national cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps) that took effect on November 1, 2013.

Meanwhile, Food banks around the country, on which desperate families rely, say that they're struggling to meet unprecedented demands.

Experts believe that the main reasons for the increased hunger in US cities are unemployment, low salaries, poverty, and a high cost of housing.