Food Banks , Struggle to Meet, Increasing Need.<br />NPR reports that all over <br />the United States, food banks are <br />experiencing a surge of people in need this year.<br />Katie Fitzgerald, the president <br />of Feeding America, warns of a , "drumbeat of increasing <br />demand, month over month.".<br />The nation has seen inflation <br />rise to a four-decade high <br />in recent months. .<br />NPR reports that the rising cost of food <br />and other essential items has the most <br />impact on lower-income households.<br />As demand surges nationwide, <br />food banks are struggling <br />to meet the need.<br />According to NPR, <br />this is partly because food <br />donations are way down.<br />Supply chain disruptions have also <br />had an effect on many staple items <br />typically stocked by food banks.<br />Feeding America claims that providers across the U.S, are relying on emergency reserves, <br />opting for cheaper products, limiting distribution...<br />and "stretching their inventory to be <br />able to meet more people's needs.".<br />Feeding America's Fitzgerald says that wages <br />have lagged behind the rising costs of housing, <br />health care and education for decades.<br />Thirty, 40 years ago, it was really an emergency food system for people who really had no other option. Today, we're seeing a lot of folks that are budgeting in charitable food to their monthly budget, Katie Fitzgerald, President of Feeding America, via NPR.<br />And when that is happening in this country, <br />something is fundamentally wrong, <br />because a lot of these folks are working, Katie Fitzgerald, President of Feeding America, via NPR
