Food pantries feel squeeze of hard times and inflation
Disrupted supply chains, other factors lead to stock depletion
The U.S. is in the midst of one of the worst periods of inflation in over a decade, and early indicators suggest a significant number of Memphians will disproportionally feel an impact in the grocery stores.
Factors like labor shortages, extreme weather, and congested shipping ports, the cost of unprocessed foods like poultry, fish, eggs, and beef are up 5.9% from this time last year, according to reports from the U.S. Department of Labor show.
Reports from the U.S. Department of Labor show the overall consumer price index increased by 5.2% in the last year and just over 6.5% in the past two years.
Direct providers like food banks and church pantries say they’re either concerned about the rising cost of food and how far they can stretch their budgets, or they are seeing an increase in those in need of meals and groceries.
With a poverty rate of 20% the rising costs likely mean a significant portion of Memphis will disproportionately feel the impact at the grocery store.
Rising food prices mean an additional strain on Memphis food pantries
Tracy Burgess, the development director for the Catholic Charities of West Tennessee, headquartered on Cleveland Street, said the organization is currently in the midst of a surge of demand. In the last six months, the number of community members needing individual meals or take-home family boxes of food has risen by 300%.
“With the economy impacting the food supply, the emergency services program is working diligently with local partners, vendors, and volunteers to ensure that services can continue as needed,” Pope said via email.
With a median income just north of $43,000 for Memphis residents, a single-digit percentage point may be too much for some families, particularly those that are not recipients of the recently increased Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program, or SNAP.
First Congregational Church on Cooper Street works with local grocery stores and the Mid-south Food Bank to distribute meals and groceries to those who need them.
Stephanie Rollen, the director of First Congo’s Food Justice Ministry, said the church also has an additional budget from member donations that is used to buy snacks and other items for those who utilize the food pantry.
“And it’s just not going to go as far this year,” Rollen said of the church’s budget.
Both First Congo and Catholic Charities of West Tennessee are two of the Mid-south Food Bank’s 31 Mid-south area distribution partners.
And the Mid-south Food Bank is facing a sustained increased demand by more than 220% since the start of the pandemic.
Prior to the pandemic, the food bank would distribute about 16.7 million pounds of food per year. During the pandemic, that number jumped to 55 million pounds per year, according to the food bank’s president and CEO, Cathy Pope.
Pope said it’s possible that supply chain issues impacting grocery stores could impact the donations those stores provide to the bank but she doesn’t anticipate a major disruption.
“However, we are monitoring this over the next 60 days to see what our inventory looks like,” Pope said.
A specific consumer behavior can help alleviate some of the burden on low-income families in Memphis
Labor shortages, congested shipping ports, COVID-19 outbreaks in processing facilities are some of the numerous factors contributing to an unruly era of supply chain woes, according to Ernie Nichols, an associate professor of chain management at the University of Memphis’ Fogelman College of Business and Economics.
“I have no example of anything that compares to the scope and the breadth of the problems we’re seeing today,” Nichols said.
Many factors are beyond the control of everyday consumers. One factor is completely within consumer control.
“The thing that people need to avoid is the hoarding mentality,” Nichols said. “I’ve seen it in stores going back to a year ago when people had problems with the paper products.
People were buying two pallets of toilet paper or a year’s supply of diapers.”
When individuals hoard, Nichols said, it affects SNAP recipients negatively.
“They have to shop week by week,” Nichols said. “They can’t afford to buy a month’s worth of diapers all at once.”
While the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently adjusted SNAP benefits in response to the rise in food costs, recipients receive benefits every 20 days of the month.
Rob Ikard, the president of the Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association, also pointed towards the toilet paper shortage of 2020 as an example of panic-buying.
“The toilet paper shortage was a self-fulfilling prophecy because of panic-buying.”
The association represents Kroger, Publix, and Cash Saver, among other grocers. In Ikard’s view, grocers have worked overtime to overcome “quirks in the system for every tier of the supply chain.”
Both Ikard and Nichols say that inflation and product shortages will likely persist for a while. Ikard, from a grocer’s point of view, said he does not anticipate broad food shortages in Tennessee.
To donate to the Mid-south Food Bank, visit their website at www.https://www.midsouthfoodbank.org/ways-to-give-donate.
To support Catholic Charities of West Tennessee’s food pantry, visit https://www.ccwtn.org/about/donate.
The organization is also accepting in-kind donations for their food pantry, which is in need of pop-top canned meats, individual peanut butter servings, or other high protein options, fruit cups and fruit snacks, and granola or cereal bars.
To support the Food Justice Ministry at First Congo, visit www.https:// www.firstcongo.com/give, or text “GIVE” to 629-206-5926.
Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.