Food costs continue to rise across the country – and that’s putting pressure on local food banks.
Food Finders Food Bank in Lafayette reports the number of people using their services is at an all-time high.
According to Purdue University researchers, national food insecurity rates hit 17 percent in June, for the second time since they began their consumer food survey 18 months ago.
Jayson Lusk is the head of the agricultural economics department at Purdue University. He said food insecurity is being driven in part by a continued rise in food prices.
“It’s certainly the case that just in terms of affordability of food prices that food has become less affordable than it was even two or three years ago,” he said.
Food price increases hit their peak in August of 2022 at over 11 percent, according to data tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2010 onward. In June of this year, prices were still rising, but were only 5 percent higher compared with June 2022.
“When we talk about inflation and food price inflation, it’s always a little bit difficult to talk about,” Lusk said. “...the most recent numbers suggest a slower rate of increase - but the food prices are still increasing.”
Those higher food prices are having a direct impact on local food pantries.
Kier Crites Muller is the president and CEO of Food Finders Food Bank in Lafayette. She said the organization has been experiencing an uptick in demand.
“We saw a 28 percent increase in folks served in one of our own food pantries from January to June of 2022 to this year,” she said. “We actually, a couple weeks ago, had a one day high.”
Muller said it’s likely the higher number of clients is also driven by the end of some COVID-era support programs, in addition to the surge in food costs.
She said she is also concerned about some proposed work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, in the farm bill currently making its way through Congress.
“The more people that are restricted from SNAP, the harder it is for people to access SNAP, the more regulations or stricter income guidelines and things like that – it means more people are going to turn to the charitable sector for support,” Muller said. “That’s what we’re worried about.”
