Just as inflation is hitting so many families hard with increases in rent, gas and food prices, some of the federal programs in place during the Covid pandemic are ending. In the past month, St. Mary’s Food Bank is seeing an increase in the number of families coming to the food bank, using the resources of agency partners and visiting our mobile distribution sites.
Inflation and higher costs for everything from milk to vegetables, on top of higher gas and rent prices, comes at the same time that pandemic assistance is expiring — and it’s created something of a perfect storm in terms of need.
Food banks in the Phoenix area are seeing a sharp increase in demand this spring. Here at St. Mary’s Food Bank, the state’s largest food bank, we are seeing a few hundred more families a day coming to the food bank for help.
