CINCINNATI — Families lined up outside Cain Food Pantryin Northside Tuesday. It's a site executive director Melissa Meyer said is becoming common.
"It doesn't take much, food prices going up, gas prices going up, to make the household budget fall apart," Meyer said.
According to the food pantry, visits are up 75%. The facility just re-opened this week following renovations that nearly doubled the size to meet the growing demand.
"We continue to see more and more people coming to the pantry. Our folks on the fixed income or with limited sources are finding what dollars they do have for groceries and gas are going much less far than they have in the past," Meyer said.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, inflation is at a 40 year high. University of Cincinnati Economy professor Michael Jones said it's unclear how long this will last, but consumers can take steps to fight back.
"There are some expenditures they can't go without… but the things like entertainment purchase or today is the Reds Opening Day, the consumers don't have to go to the Reds game. They can spend their money elsewhere," Jones said.
According to experts, inflation has multiple causes including supply chain issues from the pandemic, the government stimulus bill and the war in Ukraine.
"Access to food is a human right we don't want people having to jump through a bunch of hoops just to feed their families," Meyer said.
