HARLINGEN — Hunger is a constant for many, and there is always a need.
But high prices, especially for groceries, are making things even more difficult for many families.
Officially, inflation is running 7.7 percent a year, but it’s nearly double that for grocery items at 13.3 percent. Food distributors have been severely impacted by avian flu outbreaks in the United States which have raised poultry prices, with egg prices alone up more than 30 percent.
And diesel fuel, the lifeblood of how every non-locally produced items get to us, has increased more than 40 percent this past year. Add it up, and it’s a recipe for spiraling food prices.
“Texans everywhere are struggling with the rising cost of food,” Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, the largest network of food banks in the state, told KUT Radio in Austin. “But for people living on a limited income, it’s become that much harder for them to stretch their dollars.”
Food pantry
Jim Coffman is director of the Harlingen Neighborhood Food Pantry which operates on the premises of the 8th and Harrison Church of Christ.
Every Wednesday the pantry distributes thousands of pounds of food items to the needy.
“It’s not getting any better,” he said. “Two weeks ago, we had 200 people. We’ve had 200 people since we started, let’s say back in February. And that process has increased …
“We’re at maximum. We can’t do any more out of that garage than what we’re doing,” he added.
Like a lot of things, COVID and the subsequent lockdowns and shutdowns led to changes in operations at the food pantry which endure. For almost three years now, handing out boxes of food on Wednesday mornings is done on a drive-thru basis, and Coffman estimates 8,000 and 12,000 pounds of food goods are distributed every week.
In 2019, before the COVID disruptions, the food pantry gave out 850,000 pounds of food.
Broad increases
It’s not just increases in food prices which have families struggling with their budgeting but a range of higher costs across the spectrum of what most would regard as daily necessities.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of September, prices have risen nationally in natural gas (up 33.1 percent), health insurance (up 28.2 percent), gasoline (up 18.2 percent), car insurance (up 10.2 percent) and rent (up 6.7 percent.)
Air fare is up 42.9 percent, and public transportation also costs more, up 27.1 percent.
“On paper, (inflation) has come down,” Yiming Ma, an assistant professor of business at Columbia Business School, told the CNBC business channel, noting the official rate had been over 8 percent. “The elephant in the room is price levels are still increasing at an extremely high rate.”
Loaves and Fishes
Victor Rivera is executive director of Loaves and Fishes of the Rio Grande Valley, a nonprofit which provides meals and shelter for the homeless, as well as other community services.
For his agency, things have been moving along nicely. Although there is always a need, he said his nonprofit is meeting its challenges.
“We’re not experiencing any turbulence or tidal waves,” Rivera said. “I know around this time last year there was bit of, not turmoil, but we were managing it, and it was all a lot more challenging last year but this year seems like it’s pretty smooth sailing.”
This year Loaves and Fishes served its first in-person Thanksgiving meals since COVID began. For two years, they only served Thanksgiving meals to-go.
“Considering we were serving for the first item since COVID, we served 215 meals and people came back for seconds, so the total came up to 358,” he said. “So that was a good response.”
How to help
Both the Harlingen Neighborhood Food Pantry and Loaves and Fishes of the Rio Grande Valley accept donations both financially and in food and other goods. Details can be found on the nonprofits’ websites.
They also have a need for volunteers.
“We’re going to get ready for our Point in Time survey,” Rivera said. “We hold it every year in January so it’s right around the corner, believe it or not, for us, so we need to make preparations.”
The Point of Time survey is a Texas-wide effort to take count of the homeless on the same day, usually the fourth Thursday in January.
“We canvass the area to count the homeless, and so what we’re going to be needing for sure are gloves, because it’s going to be cold in January,” he said. “Last time it was during a snap and it was very cold, but we really need like gloves and scarves. We definitely have toiletries. The things we can give may be some sweats. … anything to keep them warm.”
Rivera said Loaves and Fishes uses these items in care packages it hands out to the homeless.
For Coffman at the food pantry, they can always use volunteers, and he doesn’t discourage the donation of food items. But he urges donors to instead consider donating cash on his nonprofit’s website via PayPal, since he can buy foods in bulk much more cheaply at the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley in Pharr.
He said it’s all very much appreciated and not just by him.
“When they say, ‘Thank you for what you do for us’ with tears in their eyes or running down their face, you know it’s sincere.”
