Care and Share Food Bank feels inflation pressure
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- As more families turn to food banks for help during rising inflation, Care and Share Food Bank in Colorado Springs admits it's also struggling to keep up with costs.
"The challenges that you and I are facing whenever we go to the grocery store and are seeing the increase in cost of food, those are the same exact challenges that we're facing here at Care and Share," said Joanna Wise, Marketing and Communications Director at Care and Share Food Bank. "We purchase food on our own, and then we also pay for the cost of transportation for food that is donated to us across the country."
According to the Consumer Price Index, food prices have risen 9.4 percent in the last 12 months ending in April.
"For the past several months, we have seen that the cost of food has been increasing for us," said Wise. "An example would be a truckload of peanut butter. Peanut butter is a huge staple for the food bank and it's one of our most popular items. A year ago, in 2021, we would spend around $37,000 for a truckload. This year, the very last order that we made, we spent $51,000.”
And it’s not just the cost of food.
The price of gas has doubled for Care and Share in the last year and has gone up 85 percent since 2020.
“To put it into perspective what that means within our budget and what we have to be able to spend, we travel nearly a quarter-million miles across 31 counties every single year,” said Wise.
As costs grow, so does the need for help as more and more families request Care and Share's services to help them make ends meet.
“There is an increase in the number of families who are needing our services," said Wise. "From January up until now, we have had more than a thousand families register at our Sunnyside Markets.”
Currently, 3,674 families are enrolled at Care and Share's Markets overall.
Care and Share is now putting out the call for continued support from the community.
They’re looking for monetary and food donations from those who have the means right now.
You can make an online donation or find out more information on how to drop off food, by heading to CareandShare.org.
If you are in need of food, click here for more information.
