Hungry Cooks : Poverty Wages and Homelessness in the Fast Food Industry

The fast food industry has a larger share of its workers in poverty than any other industry. The combination of low wages, part-time work and employee churn undercut workers’ ability to pay their rent.Hungry Cooks presents findings showing that fast food workers make up 11 percent of all homeless workers in California, 9 percent in Los Angeles County and 8 percent in the City of Los Angeles.If the fast food industry provided adequate pay and stable employment there would be 10,120 fewer homeless workers in California, 3,595 fewer homeless workers in Los Angeles County, and 1,889 fewer homeless workers in the City of Los Angeles.Most frontline fast food workers are precariously housed because of low wages and part-time hours. There is no floor to prevent their fall into homelessness. The 5.9 percent share of California’s homeless residents who come from the fast food labor force is a continuous stream, adding to the daily flow of new entrants into homelessness.California’s fast food workers bring in $59 in revenue for each hour that they are on the job. The fast food industry is thriving and has enough profit to prevent workers from becoming homeless