(FOX NEWS) – Rising inflation and fuel costs in the United States have resulted in more Americans finding themselves in need of help from their local food bank and leaders in the industry tell Fox News Digital that working families are becoming fixtures in the long lines at food distribution sites.
Feeding South Dakota, the only statewide food bank that serves the 900,000 people in the state’s 66 counties, has seen an influx of working families facing food insecurity as inflation and high fuel costs make it even more difficult for food banks to keep up with demand.
“We’ve had an over 20% increase in families for our statewide mobile service in the past 12 months,” Matt Burns, chief operating officer at Feeding South Dakota, told Fox News Digital. “You see people in between jobs who maybe normally have enough and their budget is sufficient enough in their house budget to meet all their food needs but because of inflationary pressures they’re making really tough choices between food and other necessities like housing, medication, and car payments. All these things put incredible pressures on household budgets and so that is all contributing to the need and why we’re seeing that 20% increase.”
