Record-high inflation forces families to turn to food banks for groceries
Eric Cooper, president and CEO of San Antonio food bank, shares the struggles he is witnessing from American families amid record-high inflation.
Nearly half of U.S. food banks are seeing increased demand as families continue to battle record-high inflation, and San Antonio food bank CEO Eric Cooper says the uptick in demand is creating a supply crisis within the food banks themselves.
"It's a tough place. With donations shrinking, many Feeding America food banks are finding themselves 20 to 30 percent with less inventory right now with a demand of 10 to 15 percent across the country," he told "Fox & Friends First" on Wednesday.
"The lines have gotten longer, back to what we experienced during COVID."
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 26: A woman picks food in a fresh market on July 26, 2022 in New York. Food prices in the New York area have jumped more than 9% in the last year, is the steepest in the last 40 years, according to the BLS. Inflation is hitting poor and working-class New Yorkers, immigrants and the food pantries that support them. (Photo by John Smith/VIEWpress) (John Smith/VIEWpress)
Cooper said inflation has left many families in difficult situations and that, even with raises, ongoing economic concerns have rendered them helpless and unable to pay for rent, childcare or utilities.
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"Many of these families are working… the parents are doing all they can to keep up, but they're just not doing it."
He added that some families have also been unable to afford gas to pick up essentials at the food bank.
"We spoke with an 80-year-old on a fixed income, taking care of their 102-year-old parent – high health care costs, inability to get food," he explained.
Cooper said higher costs are leading Americans to adjust their budgets and leave grocery stores with fewer items. In consequence, they turn to "Feeding America" food banks for additional help.
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"These are desperate situations," he added.