Inflation affects Lynchburg food banks as holiday season approaches

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — With the cost of everyday items like groceries getting higher, you're probably feeling it in your wallet.

Now, this problem is impacting Lynchburg food banks. With the holiday season approaching, these feeding centers are especially important.

At Lynchburg Daily Bread, this time of year gets really busy.

SEE ALSO: Cost of Thanksgiving is up 14%, but Butterball exec says it's not because of the turkey

Last year, Jennifer McCarthy, a resource coordinator at Daily Bread, said the pandemic brought them nearly double the demand they typically get. This year, that high demand remains but for a different reason.

"Prices are going up. Incomes aren't. People are trying to make ends meet,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said they're seeing a wider range of people come in now.

"It changed from more single people to more family units, older folks coming in,” she added.

With consumer food prices jumping 5.4%, Lynchburg Daily Bread said it's become more important they provide that safety net for families.

SEE ALSO: Expect to pay more for Christmas trees this year, experts say

"We're an opportunity for them to at least get one hot meal every day and in addition to some groceries we're also able to offer to people throughout the week," McCarthy said.

However, the Park View Community Mission's "Food for Thought" is seeing a different impact.

"Something we use in our food bags every week are snacks, and we put four snacks in every single food bag that we pack,” said Julie Farley, the director of Food for Thought.

Their backpack program offers free food bags for students, but Farley said snack donations have severely dwindled.

“We've just really gotten depleted this low. We don't even have enough snacks to do our next food bag packing,” she said.

A part of this problem, Farley said, is many people are stretched thin and snacks are getting expensive.

“It makes things challenging for the program because it's very essential. It's probably the items that's looked forward to the most,” she added.

The center passes out 600 bags a week-- that comes out to 2,400 snacks. Without that supply, Farley said they can't give out fully stocked bags.

Farley said they're looking for individually wrapped snacks. If you want to donate, click here.