PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The skyrocketing price of food may have some people cutting corners when it comes to what’s on the table for Easter and Passover meals, and has led to a more pronounced dependence for some on food pantries.
“People are having to make choices,” said Annie Allman, CEO and general manager of Reading Terminal Market in Center City.
“Your family tradition is very fancy, I don’t know, a leg lamb or crown roast, maybe you’re making other choices.”
Like a less expensive piece of meat.
Additional effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and other economic and disease factors are playing a part in the costs of spring holiday meals.
“Our merchants have been talking about this for months,” Allman said.
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“Inflation, you got other pressures the avian flu that has taken place across the country. That has put more pressure on poultry as well."
She said that as people go through her market or shop for food in general, they will see where businesses have had to raise their prices.
“Our merchants have really been trying to hold the line and absorb as much of the price increase as they can,” she said.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the cost of food is up 8.8% compared to last year, the biggest increase since May 1981.
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That increasing cost of food has been keeping pantries in the region very busy.
“Our numbers have rocketed since COVID. We've been doing this for the last two years when COVID first came on the scene. We are feeding anywhere from 150 to 200 people every Tuesday and every Thursday,” said Vernessa Wilson, community service director for the food pantry at Mizpah Seventh Day Adventist Church in Frankford.
“We serve a lot of seniors. Some of them, they are taking care of their grandchildren. There are situations where the parent is not around because for whatever reason, so senior citizens are raising their grandchildren. It is difficult for them because they are on fixed incomes, but the food that we provide, it helps a lot.”
Wilson also explained that the seniors who receive their services are often in very tough straits themselves, even as they help their families’ younger generations.
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“Our senior citizens are on fixed incomes, and they have to be very careful, because they don't have a lot of money,” she said.
“They don't get a lot of food stamps, and they just have to be very careful how they spend their money.”
She says the food pantry is able to keep up with demand, thanks to donations — often from organizations like Philabundance — and volunteers.
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