Chattanooga-area food assistance programs are feeling the strain of inflation as food prices soar, triggering higher demand from families who need help.
The Chattanooga Area Food Bank’s Emergency Food Assistance Program is seeing a 50% increase in need compared to the demand seen at the height of the pandemic, according to Jennifer Fritts, the food bank’s community engagement director.
When the pandemic was at its peak in mid- to late-2021, the program served around 100 families a day. Now, it serves upwards of 150 families a day, and about 1 in 5 of those families have never used the program, Fritts said.
The Red Bank Community Food Pantry, which is one of the largest food pantries in the county and serves about 2,500 people a month, has seen about a 25% increase in demand since February, according to the Rev. Ken Sauer, the pastor of Red Bank United Methodist Church, where the pantry is based.
“The price of gasoline and groceries has gotten crazy, so we’re seeing a lot more folks who are senior citizens living on fixed incomes, and it’s just not going far enough,” Sauer said. “We see more younger people that have families, and maybe they don’t make a lot of money, so it’s not going far enough now.”