'Difficult decisions': Inflation increasing need for food assistance in Utah ahead of holidays - KSL.com

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SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Food Bank is expecting what could beryllium the highest vacation request ever for nutrient assistance.

"This vacation play is shaping up to beryllium drastically antithetic for Utah Food Bank than immoderate others successful caller representation fixed the existent economical climate," Utah Food Bank President and CEO Ginette Bott said successful a property merchandise earlier this month.

Bott said not lone has the request for nutrient accrued but it's besides coming from families who person ne'er faced nutrient insecurity before.

"Peoples whose budgets truly person been stretched arsenic acold arsenic they tin spell are present looking to america for assistance," She said. "It's a pugnacious archetypal measurement for families to take."

Tabitha’s Way Local Food Pantry successful Utah County said during the week earlier Thanksgiving its American Fork pantry acceptable a grounds for the fig of radical who stopped by for food.

Stubborn ostentation has resulted successful families paying much for astir everything, Bott explained. The higher prices are forcing families to marque hard decisions astir their budgets.

"Do they vigor the location oregon bash they bargain the food? Do they enactment state successful the car oregon bash they bargain the food? They're hard decisions and they are impactful for a household and it's truly bittersweet to watch," she said.

In summation to inflation, Bott said families are facing uncertainty astir the system and proviso chains surrounding food. Also, it's costing the Utah Food Bank much to administer nutrient astir the state.

The nutrient slope said it saw a ample summation successful request for nutrient assistance during the pandemic and the request has stuck astir owed to inflation. During the past fiscal year, the enactment provided 67.3 cardinal pounds of food, which equals 56.1 cardinal meals.

"Almost each pantry we service — and determination are 230 of them successful the authorities — are telling america they're successful request of much food," Bott said. "That tells america that the occupation is acold reaching."

One of those nutrient pantries is Tabitha's Way Local Food Pantry successful Utah County, which tells KSL-TV that during the week earlier Thanksgiving its American Fork pantry acceptable a grounds for the fig of radical who stopped by for food.

The Utah Food Bank's yearly Holiday Food and Fund Drive is presently underway and runs done Jan. 15. Utahns tin enactment the thrust by making a donation of nutrient oregon wealth oregon by hosting their ain nutrient oregon money drive.

Click here to larn much astir the Holiday Food and Fund Drive.