‘The cost of everything has gone up’: Inflated food prices drive more to DeKalb area food pantries

DeKALB – The number people served by local food pantries varies from week to week, but in the past few months, that number has increased, operators of several DeKalb area food pantries have said.

Frankie DiCiaccio, the operations manager of the Barb Food Mart in DeKalb, believes that the increase is directly related to the current food costs in relation to ongoing inflation felt nationwide.

“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen the numbers of people we assist consistently climb, but numbers have recently jumped pretty significantly,” DiCiaccio said. “It’s difficult to live a well-nourished and consistently housed life at the poverty line, much less below it. We don’t want families choosing between filling up their gas tank, paying a utility bill or rent and being able to feed their children.”

Barb Food Mart is located at Chesebro Elementary School, 900 E. Garden St. in DeKalb. It provides free boxes of pantry staples, hygiene and household items, milk, meat and fresh and frozen produce to families of students enrolled in DeKalb School District 428. Food is distributed from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursdays in a hybrid model: Orders are placed online and distributed in a drive-thru or people can walk up and choose items on outdoor shopping shelves.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, world food commodity prices reached their highest levels ever in March 2022. The FAO’s food price index averaged 159.3 points in March, up 12.6% from February and 33.6% higher than March 2021. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2022 consumer price index for food, the costs of food purchases have increased 7.9% for the year ending in February.

Grocery store or supermarket food purchases, also called food-at-home purchases, increased 1.4% from January to February and were 8.6% higher than February 2021.

Barb Food Mart distributes between 6,000 to 11,000 pounds of items each week from the Northern Illinois Food Bank. DiCiaccio said before the pandemic, the pantry served about 60 families per week. Since the beginning of the year, Barb Food Mart has served an average of 200 families each week. On April 1, the pantry served a record-breaking 246 families. On April 7, 201 families were served.

“We don’t ask questions. We try to offer as much as possible and we want to give everyone a choice in what they receive,” DiCiaccio said. “We never look down on others. We want to be there to give everyone a friendly hello and share some joy. We don’t have to know what others are going through to be able to help.”

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 6

Frankie DiCiaccio, operations manager of Barb Food Mart, looks through the items on one of the shopping shelves Thursday, April 7, 2022, at the facility in DeKalb. Barb Food Mart is a food pantry serving those in need that have a student enrolled in the DeKalb School District. (Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.com/Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.co)

An increase in families and individuals served also occurred at DeKalb County Community Gardens’ Grow Mobile, which travels throughout DeKalb County offering fresh produce, baked goods, meats and other food items. The Grow Mobile is a joint program with the Voluntary Action Center, DeKalb County Health Department, the DeKalb County Community Action Office, Northern Illinois University and Kish Health. The Grow Mobile offers food without any income restrictions or qualifications.

Jasmine Walker, who visited DCCG’s Grow Mobile on Thursday at University Village in DeKalb, said that receiving fresh produce helps her family.

“It helps a lot,” Walker said. “Some people don’t have money to afford living or access to food. I wouldn’t be able to afford certain foods and wouldn’t get it otherwise. ... I want to thank them for helping the community and giving us access to the food we need.”

Camille Loving, DCCG’s Grow Mobile program director, said she’s noted an increase recently in people being served.

“I think the increase is due to gas prices going up, the cost of living going up and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit changes, with the government reducing the amount of money given out,” Loving said.

In January, DCCG’s Grow Mobile served 502 households and 1,140 individuals, with 304 people younger than 18 and 433 older than 60.

In February, DCCG’s Grow Mobile served 496 households and 1,247 individuals, with 292 people younger than 18 and 432 older than 60.

In March, DCCG’s Grow Mobile served 862 households and 1,888 individuals, with 423 people younger than 18 and 686 older than 60.

The number of families served in March is a 71% increase from the number of families served in January and a 73% increase from the number of families served in February.

Gary Billings, the pantry coordinator at the Salvation Army Food Pantry in DeKalb, said that the number of people served has been increasing. In March, the Salvation Army Food Pantry served 635 families, up from about 550 families in February.

The Salvation Army Food Pantry, at 830 Grove St. in DeKalb, is a choice pantry, allowing people a shopping experience as they choose items. The pantry is open from 9 a.m. to noon Mondays through Wednesdays and from 9 a.m. to noon and 5 to 6:45 p.m. Thursdays.

“The numbers are starting to go up a little bit,” Billings said. “We’re starting to have more and more people coming to the food pantry. We have a lot of regulars, but also an increase in new people. We used to allow families to come once a month, now it’s once a week.”

Billings said he’s noticed price increases in grocery stores, too.

“Prices are going up on everything, and we’re seeing an increase in the cost of food,” Billings said. “I want to let others know that the Salvation Army Food Pantry is here for the community. We’re here to serve the people in the community and do whatever we can to help them.”

Food-away-from-home purchases, or restaurant purchases, increased 0.4% in February and were 6.8% higher than January 2021.

In 2022, food-at-home prices are expected to increase between 3% and 4%. Food-away-from-home prices are predicted to increase between 5.5% and 6.5%.

The USDA’s Economic Research Service predicts all food prices to increase between 4.5% and 5.5%, according to its most-recent report, updated March 25. Some items seeing the largest cost increase include beef and veal increasing by 16.2%, pork by 14%, poultry by 12.5%, fats and oils by 11.7%, eggs by 11.4%, fresh fruits by 10.5%, fish and seafood by 10.4% and fresh vegetables by 4.3%.

“It seems like the cost of everything has gone up,” said Erika Brown, volunteer with DCCG’s Grow Mobile. “There is a constant need because the price of food has gone up so high. That’s why food pantries are so important and so necessary.”