Inflation is currently at a 40-year high — a hard reality that impacts all of us every day. While it’s something that affects each of us, for some Wyomingites, the hardships caused by inflation are much more severe. They are left with incredibly challenging choices, including: Do I pay my bills or do I buy enough food to nourish myself and my loved ones?
Right now that choice is being made even more difficult as food inflation in the U.S. continues to be painfully high, eating away at peoples’ budgets and weighing especially heavily on people with lower household incomes, for whom groceries take up a larger portion of their income.
Food inflation is hitting Food Bank of Wyoming’s budget, too. Even with our robust purchasing power and lower bulk pricing from agricultural and retail partners, some staple items currently cost upwards of 70% more year-over-year. Here is an example of how much some of our most commonly sourced produce items have increased in price compared to last year:
- Potatoes: 71% increase
- Sweet corn: 61% increase
- Onions: 50% increase
- Cucumbers: 39% increase
These price hikes, as well as myriad other factors beyond our control — including an increased need for food in our community, a rise in fuel costs, and a reduction in donated and government commodity food supplies — means that for the first time in recent history, $1 now only allows us to distribute enough food for three meals, not four.
So far this calendar year, Food Bank of Wyoming has distributed over 7.3 million pounds of food to people experiencing hunger in our community, the equivalent of nearly 6 million meals. Every day, our food sourcing team, operations team, drivers, programs team, volunteers, and everyone else on every level of the organization works to get as much nourishing food to as many people as possible.
You can help us help our neighbors, too: Monetary donations to Food Bank of Wyoming of any amount fuel our operations, and 96 cents of every dollar goes directly to programs that get food into the hands of Wyomingites who need it most. Please consider donating today to join us in caring for our community. Thank you.
