"We cut the eggs in half so that it stretches. We used to give out a whole dozen of eggs. Now we cut the dozens in half so they each get a half a dozen. We're in Georgia, where Jennifer Deal has been operating this food pantry for more than a decade. Now, for the first time, she's running out of food."
"As inflation has gone up, more people in her community say they can't afford groceries. The average cost of food in America is 28 percent higher today than it was in 2020 and for Jennifer, that means doing more with less. So this is where we keep our produce. We used to be able to give out a whole pack of lettuce, but now we have to break it down so that we can feed everybody."
"Despite rising demand, the Trump administration has cut nearly a billion dollars in federal aid for programs that ensure low-income families are fed. Not having enough funding to know that I can feed all the people that need it. I think that's frustrating and it's scary. Food pantries where people can pick up food source much of their inventory from larger food banks that act as a wholesaler. The cuts have disrupted that supply chain."
Nearly $1 billion in federal food-aid cuts have reduced USDA shipments to food banks, shrinking inventories and disrupting long-standing supply chains. Food pantry operators report running out of staples, halving egg distributions, breaking packs of lettuce into smaller portions, and stretching supplies to meet rising need. Local demand has increased amid inflation, with some pantries seeing a 40 percent rise in people seeking assistance and grocery prices up markedly since 2020. Reduced federal program funding has left wholesalers and food banks with less product, forcing pantries to ration fresh produce and staples and leaving communities with diminished access to healthy food.
Read at www.nytimes.com
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