Posted on 06/27/2021 5:28:27 AM PDT by blam
Soaring food prices aren’t just impacting financially strapped families and the working poor. They’re also affecting the mission of US food banks who are spending a lot more on food than ever before.
“We’re already spending a lot more on food than we have in years past,” said Greg Trotter, a spokesman for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, a large food bank, who spoke with VOA News. “Our food purchasing budget has doubled this year.”
In the coming weeks and or months, food banks across the country may experience a surge in food demand from millions of folks who are set to have their stimmy checks expire. At least 25 states are ending federal unemployment benefits.
The perfect storm of factors (soaring food costs and unemployment benefits expiring) may stress food banks even further.
“The high prices are costing us more to feed a family in need,” said Alison Padget, development and outreach director at Food for Others. “We’ll have to rethink our purchasing decisions because economists say the prices are going to be high for at least a year.”
In Phoenix, Arizona, Jerry Brown, director of public relations at St. Mary’s Food Bank, told VOA that food banks could face severe difficulty once federal money dries up.
It seems the problem has already begun at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, which covers a large portion of the state. Impact leader Triada Stampas said the food bank serves more people than ever because of out-of-control prices at grocery stores.
According to Father English Food Pantry officials in Paterson, New Jersey, the food bank is already experiencing financial strain.
Kelly Mott, external affairs director at the Mississippi Food Network, said, “We already see the price changes will affect us soon, adding that “we are in the process of buying turkeys for the Thanksgiving holiday in November. And since they are so expensive, we won’t be able to purchase as many as we usually do, especially for the families with children who rely on us.”
And by the way, there are still 15 million Americans on some form of government dole…
The crisis is far from over as food bank stress begins to materialize, and not everyone might be fed this year.
We’re in our own growing season right now, a lot of fruits have already come in with more to come. We had this drill already, Carter administration, canning, universal casserole recipes, lots of home knitwear.
I worked right next to a food band/ food give away outlet. There were always long lines of cars to get in.
Amazing how many late-model - and even luxury - cars there were in line (as I passed by in my 14-year old Toyota).
Around here I think they must have restricted the big food bank (next to my favorite thrift store) to people unemployed due to covid because the clientele for the food bank is considerably more well-heeled than the thrift store, lots of shiny new SUVs.
Exactly, I see people pulling up in $45,000 to $65,000 cars and trucks for food donations.
People have no idea how food is grown or how it gets distributed. And the first domino to fall will be the inner-city hellholes because delivery drivers will NOT deliver food once the bottom falls out.
That’s why I built a smoker, that and I like the flavor. Low and Slow tenderizes. Plus I can cook a bunch at once and it doesn’t heat up the house or cost anything in electric/gas. I don’t even use bulk charcoal to start the wood going like a lot of people do. Bunch of sticks in a charcoal chimney and work up to smoking sized.
I noticed a new cut of pork is in all the stores here. Bone in pork sirloin roast. $1.39 but has a big hunk of bone so call it $2.39. Did one on the smoker and it was real good. Did one in the oven, hotter/faster, not so good. Spatchcocked chicken is good on the smoker but the skin comes out rubbery and I can’t be bothered to fire up the wood fired grill to crisp the skin up. Not very good for you anyway so we just don’t eat it. One of these days I might try crisping it with the propane torch.
Eye of Round on the smoker and then run through the slicer makes for cheap deli roast beef. $4.49/lb as opposed to $10-12/lb.
We used to have ribeye night every week before we had kids. It was $4.99 on sale 18 years ago. Now it’s $18.99 here in MO.
$5/lb is our limit on any kind of meat except salmon. I’ll go $7/lb on that.
I don’t buy anything that’s not on sale. The receipt will show anywhere from 20-40% saved. My wife’s the opposite. She spent $100 at Dollar General this week and within a few days, we had nothing to show for it. Bunch of small shiny packages. Oh look, something shiny, and it’s sooo cute. Pisses me off. I’ve been known to take her card away and hand her a little cash here and there for gasoline. It’s about time to do it again.
There’s a major split in meat prices here. I guess they’re trying to keep the cheap cuts cheap and are raising prices of the good cuts like those $19/lb ribeyes. Kind of socialist in a way. Tax the rich.
Some FReeper a long time ago mentioned that they used to volunteer at the food bank until they realized that the clientele was driving much better cars than he was.
Farmers here grow beef cattle. If they sell direct to consumer, the prices are near double store prices. Some people do garden so that’s good. I think a lot of people would starve before they pick up a shovel these days. There are farmers markets here and prices are decent but everyone grows the same handful of items. Maters, green beans, cucumbers mainly.
https://englishrussia.com/2017/04/14/lines-in-soviet-union/
Maybe people can’t afford groceries because of the exorbitant property taxes.
Freezing temperatures were probably a factor. I’d go on 3-7 day fasts when I was late teens...but I had the option to quit any time. I can’t imagine what the freak-out will look like, if it comes. Pretty sure I could feed myself with a .22 and a fishing rod, though.
In Ohio, income eligibility for assistance is determined by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. Any household living at 200% of the federal poverty level or less is eligible to visit the Food Pantries.
Basically a family of 4 making less than $60,000 per year qualifies. More people in the household...higher your income level can be. So...a savvy budgeter would be dumb to not take advantage of the Food Banks.
My neighbor does this and has for the last 3 years. Any surplus goes into their SHTF supply. Cannot blame them one bit. They do qualify and waste not, not want.
Maybe...then the should accept they can’t afford to live in that neighborhood. I live in an area with lower taxes than that, due tot he age of the homes and size of the lots. It is what I can afford.
This phenomenon has been around for years; it isn’t a new thing.
Yeah. Maybe people should realize they can’t afford vaping and tattoos if they have to pay for groceries. But good ol’ Uncle Sucker won’t let them go hungry.
Cannot blame them one bit.”
Exactly, they’re giving it away...
The more of these you create the more they’ll take. That’s fine if that’s what you want to do but the people behind these things seem to think they are meeting a critical humanitarian need and without them people,will starve.
Our community has several food pantry boxes set up. People donate to the boxes (literally just drop off in the box) and the “needy” go get it. They post in the facebook community page when someone fills the boxes. LOL.
Good. food needs should be handled locally by churches and local communities helping directly.
I wanted to help at one one time but once i realized it’s just another government syphon of tax dollars and much goes to illegals and people not truly in need. I chose to find other ways to help persons directly.
Right; meanwhile, our “poor” have an epidemic of diabetes...
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