Rising inflation decimates food pantry supply, sends more people than ever to them for help
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Rising inflation is affecting food insecure Hoosiers more than the pandemic did, according to Gleaners who stated that it had its largest distribution ever in the month of June.
“The federal programs had subsidies in place or supplements for the pandemic and those ended. When Indiana chose to decouple the disaster date from the federal date then snap supplemental amounts and wick supplemental amounts stopped for our neighbors,” John Elliott, the Gleaners President and CEO, said.
This, on top of school meals ending, caused many families to be unable to make ends meet and put food on the table, Elliot said.
“The combination of those two resulted in June being our highest distribution month in our history,” Elliott said. “Higher than any single month in the pandemic.”
Gleaners reported a 25% increase in distribution at their on-site pantry. The Midwest Food Bank said their partner organizations are also seeing a 25-30% increase.
“Some people are coming in and asking ‘How does this work?’ because they never asked for food assistance before,” Marcie Luhigo, the Executive Director of the Midwest Food Bank of Indiana, said.
Hoosiers are also battling rent increases on top of price hikes for other goods and services.
“Almost everywhere you turn things cost more, so it’s costing more for people to get back and forth to work and to fill up and put gas in their car,” Luhigo said. “It’s costing more when you go to the grocery store.”
The increase in food costs is also making it difficult for these food assistance organizations to afford the products they need.
“It’s costing us more at the food bank to make sure we keep enough food here that we are sending out to our partner organizations around the state,” Luhigo said.
“We are purchasing nine to 10 times the food as we were pre-pandemic,” Elliott said. ” It’s not just because of more neighbors fed, it’s to make up for less retail and producer donations and to frankly make up for the USDA’s dramatic drop off.”
Elliott said he hopes anyone with the ability to donate continues to do so because there is always a need.