At One Texas Pantry … Volunteers have been serving 800 to 1,200 families a week since the COVID-19 pandemic began—about four times the weekly traffic in 2019
Food Ministries Squeezed by Pandemic, Supply Chain, Inflation, and Demand
Haley Barker, Riley Farrell & Marika Proctor with Ministry Watch report:
At the Seven Loaves Food Pantry at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas, volunteers have been serving 800 to 1,200 families a week since the COVID-19 pandemic began—about four times the weekly traffic in 2019.
“We are busier than ever right now,” said Shannon Cameron, executive director of the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry in Aurora, Illinois, where, after a slight dip around tax return season, between 30 and 60 new families are registering every week.
The inflation that has loomed over the economy and restricted many Americans’ purchasing power of late has doubly affected low-income people who already struggle to get by. A recent survey by the anti-hunger organization Feeding America has shown that increased demand has affected nearly 80% of U.S. food banks, as higher prices cause more families to seek assistance.
