HALETHORPE, Md. — Putting food on the table is becoming more challenging for families as inflation makes grocery shopping more expensive.
Inflation also is putting a strain on local food banks such as the Maryland Food Bank which help provide meals for families in need.
Between Covid and rising inflation, the demand to help families in need has the Maryland Food Bank buying more food than ever.
The overall costs of food, housing, and energy continue to climb as inflation is up 8.5% as of March 2022.
According to the financial services company Moody’s Analytics, inflation now costs families about an extra $330 per month.
Administrators with the Maryland Food Bank estimate one in three people in Maryland are having trouble putting food on the table.
From the start of the pandemic in March 2020 through February 2022, the Maryland Food Bank has distributed enough food to provide more than 88 million meals.
It's a 66% increase over the same period pre-Covid-19, from March 2018 through February 2020.
The Maryland Food Bank is buying more food than ever as the rising costs of food and other household expenses has more families in need.
Before Covid, the Maryland Food Bank bought 12 million pounds of food at .45 cents a pound.
Now they say, they're buying 30 million pounds of food at nearly .80 cents a pound
Children often are the ones to suffer the most from a lack of access to food.
According to the Maryland Food Bank, more than two in five Maryland families say their children often weren't eating enough because the price of food is too high.
The food bank reports that almost half of all Maryland children received some type of food assistance in February 2022.
The Maryland Food Bank also cites the end of some pandemic relief programs combined with inflation as one of the reasons so many families struggling.
Meanwhile, the IRS recommends families file their taxes by Monday, April 18th so they can receive any remaining portion of their Child Tax Credit still due.
