美国国家公共电台 NPR--Demand at food banks is way up again. But inflation makes it harder to meet the need

Demand at food banks is way up again. But inflation makes it harder to meet the need

Transcript¹

NORFOLK, Virginia — On a sultry evening at a neighborhood food pantry in this waterfront city, some in the line outside have come from work. Justine Lee, a teller² at a credit union, had never gone to a food bank until prices went crazy this year. Now, she says with a laugh, inflation means "a lot of fussing between mothers and daughters."

She wants to use the moment to teach her 11-year-old the value of money. But on a recent shopping trip, her daughter wanted only Doritos, not the cheaper store-brand chips. Lee also drives to work and says she didn't used to think twice about filling the gas tank, but "it was empty yesterday." She decided³ to keep driving to a place down the road she thought would be 5 or 10 cents cheaper. "And then I caught myself, 'Wow, am I really doing this?' "

Lee is part of a new surge of people showing up at food banks all over the U.S. this year, a "drumbeat of increasing demand, month over month," says Katie Fitzgerald, president of Feeding America. Food is one of the items worst hit by the highest inflation in four decades. And the cost of food and other essentials, such as gas and rent, fall hardest on lower-income households with little wiggle room.

At the Norfolk pantry, school bus driver Monique Wilson started coming a few months ago "just to supplement my food budget." She and her husband have cut back on eating out, and to save on gas she uses the car as little as possible, "trying to make one trip do for all and get as many stops in as I can."

Robert Walton is a regular here. He and his wife are retired⁴ but raising two grandkids. Inside the building, he grabs a shopping cart and picks out bags with applesauce, juice and sunflower seeds.

"Little snacks like this, that's what the kids like when they can get it," he says.

And he doesn't mean only his own. Walton says he visits several pantries and brings food for other children in his neighborhood. He says a lot of people who lost jobs in the pandemic are still not working, and he can tell that their kids are missing meals. "It's been bad."

Walton is grateful for the food here. But he and others say they have noticed some favorite items missing, and meat has been especially hard to come by. That's because even as demand surges, food banks are finding it tougher to meet the need.

Food banks are struggling to meet higher demand because of inflation and other problems

At the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, President and CEO Christopher Tan shows off a cavernous storage room with empty spots on its shelves. "This would normally be much fuller," he says.

In part, that's because food donations are way down. He says grocery stores got more efficient with online orders during the pandemic, so they don't have as much extra to give. Plus, supply chain delays are disrupting the normal turnover⁵ cycle. Items that used to be delivered in a few weeks may not show up for months.

"Breakfast cereal, pasta, pasta sauce. These are things that are the staples⁶ of almost every food bank, right?" Tan says. "It's very difficult to find."

The delays are so bad that he recently ordered turkeys for Thanksgiving, to be sure they arrive in time.

Then there's the cost. With fewer donations, Tan must buy more food on the open market and at prices driven higher by inflation. A budget item that was a bit less than a million dollars before the pandemic will be nearly $5 million this year. What's more, his fuel budget has doubled, and Tan says he's competing with Amazon and rising wages, generally, for drivers. He's currently short five delivery truck drivers out of eight.

But he can't pass those costs on to customers as private businesses are doing. "We don't get to say, like, 'We're going to double the cost of our food,' " he says. "Because doubling the cost of our food is still zero."

Fitzgerald, of Feeding America, says providers around the country are dipping into emergency reserves, switching to cheaper products, limiting how often people can visit or how much food they can get, and "stretching their inventory⁷ to be able to meet more people's needs."

All this comes as emergency pandemic assistance for rent, child care and food has ended or will soon. Fitzgerald's group has asked Congress for another infusion⁸ of emergency spending to help its pantries and other programs buy food. On Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $2 billion in new funding to strengthen food supply chains.

"Our experience is that this rise in food and fuel costs are creating just as precarious⁹ a situation for people who are trying to feed their families as was the case during the pandemic," Fitzgerald says.

America's charitable food system was designed for emergencies but has become a necessity

An Urban Institute survey found that 1 in 6 adults relied on charitable food, a share that was still above pre-pandemic levels. It found Black and Hispanic adults were nearly three times as likely as white adults to use food pantries, with no significant decline since the first year of the pandemic. And that data was from December, before inflation caused food prices to spike¹⁰.

Additionally, though the overall economy may be booming, the unemployment rate for Black people is nearly double the national average.

Feeding America's Fitzgerald says low-income households feel rising prices the most because they spend a far greater share of their income on necessities. Food alone makes up nearly a third of their budget, on average.

But even beyond this crisis, Fitzgerald says persistent¹¹ hunger has become a symptom of the country's wider inequality. For decades, wages have lagged — especially for those without a college degree — while costs for housing, health care and education have skyrocketed. The nation's charitable food system was not designed to compensate¹² for such disparities.

"Thirty, 40 years ago, it was really an emergency food system for people who really had no other option," she says. "Today, we're seeing a lot of folks that are budgeting in charitable food to their monthly budget. And when that is happening in this country, something is fundamentally wrong, because a lot of these folks are working."

Everett Jones is retired after a career as a traveling stagehand. He and his wife live in a subsidized senior living apartment in Virginia Beach and get food stamps. And still, he says for years they have found food donations to be an "absolute necessity." Now, inflation is forcing painful choices.

"The gas prices are so high that I have to cancel doctor's appointments," he says. "They're too far away."

He has put off physical therapy for his bum¹³ knee, allergy¹⁴ shots, even a cardiology follow-up after he was hospitalized with a heart problem. Jones says he can hardly afford batteries for his hearing aids.

"It's a lot of stress, a lot of worry, a lot of self-denial of things that we should not have to deny ourselves."

Jones jokes he may get a horse and buggy to save on gas. But if prices stay this high for a lot longer, he doesn't know what else he'll be able to do without.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 teller   

n.银行出纳员；(选举)计票员

参考例句：

• The bank started her as a teller.银行起用她当出纳员。
• The teller tried to remain aloof and calm.出纳员力图保持冷漠和镇静。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

6 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

7 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

8 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

9 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

10 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

11 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

12 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

13 bum   

n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨

参考例句：

• A man pinched her bum on the train so she hit him.在火车上有人捏她屁股，她打了那人。
• The penniless man had to bum a ride home.那个身无分文的人只好乞求搭车回家。

14 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。