Funviralpark This is affecting Kentucky organizations fighting hunger with food banks.
“They don’t have enough food. All of these agencies and other things are running out,” said Jeff Steele, transportation manager at Dare to Care. “So this guy has doubled his orders in three months and has been helping feed his neighbors.”
As he loaded trucks with carrots, grapes and other produce, Steele explained how Dare to Care partners with 300 institutions. These agencies then distribute the food to food pantries, shelters, emergency kitchens, or faith-based organizations.
“They’re running low a few weeks before the next drop-off, so this is obviously helping,” Steele said. Let’s say they’re almost completely out by , so we double that so they can get through the whole month.”
The increase in orders is a sign of the need they are working to fill, especially in the elderly demographic.
“Another thing is that seniors still have to pay their LG&E bills and most of them live on a fixed income,” Steele said. “So, little by little, everything is helping the elderly. If they can get this amount of food, he will only have one less food bill.”
He said it all comes down to prices this holiday season. In the latest consumer price index report, fruit and vegetable prices he rose 1.4%. Cereal and baked goods prices rose 1.1% last month, while dairy prices rose 1.0%.
“We need a lot more. We had Covid, but this year the atmosphere is different. We can have more people. [who] With our home utilities running, we need more fuel,” Steele said. “We can stretch the dollar so much that it is very beneficial to Dare to Care and our work.”
He said one dollar could feed three people, and prices of dairy, baked goods, cereals, and produce rose, while prices of meat, poultry, fish, and eggs fell 2%, and beef prices plummeted. The CPI reported a drop of 0.8%.
