SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Food prices have rocketed over the past year. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices have increased 11.4%. Individuals have seen this rise, and so have food banks across the country.
The Food Bank of Central New York distributes food throughout 11 counties in CNY. This rise in prices has affected people throughout the area.
“With the economy the way that it is, and inflation, and the prices of everything going up, we have seen about a 40% increase in the need out there of people going to pantries and kitchens to get food,” said Chief Development Officer Lynn Hy.
In order to help people, the food bank receives commodities from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), donations from the community, and purchases food. About half of the food the food bank distributes is purchased – that’s around 650, 000 pounds of food every month. This means the rise in prices has largely impacted their finances. This past year there was also a decrease in food commodities from the USDA, meaning they’ve had to buy more food or rely on donors.
Inflation is affecting more than just the food they receive, in order to get the food to the food pantries or soup kitchens, they have trucks that drive across the region to deliver the goods. This has caused the food bank to have a 45% increase in fuel costs.
Despite all these factors, the food bank’s work has been unharmed because of the help of the community.
“They continue to support us,” Hy said. “Whether it’s with volunteer hour donations, food donations, and monetary donations. So, we have been so fortunate to continue to be able to provide at the level that we’ve needed to provide.”
In order to combat the issues caused by the rise in prices and decrease in USDA commodities, the Food Bank of CNY has continued to work on its relationship with donors. This is just one of the reasons they are hopeful for the future, even if inflation continues.
“Knowing that that recent federal legislation passed that’s gonna help fill these shelves behind me with more USDA food commodities, I think our outlook right now is looking pretty good that we’re gonna be able to continue to meet that demand,” Hy said.
The federal legislation will be put into action in 2023 to address the need for food across the country.