LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- With inflation, gas prices, and a pandemic that just won't quit, families face a trifecta of trouble.
Food banks are stepping up to try and meet the demand.
"Gas is higher. Food (cost) is higher. Just very difficult for people right now," Carlene Bottorff said.
Every dollar counts when you're balancing a budget against rising costs.
One man spoke to WDRB as he was picking up a box of food from the Center for Lay Ministries pantry in Jeffersonville. He wanted to remain anonymous.
"I got here with two minutes left, and I didn't think I was gonna make it, $6 in gas I didn't have," he said.
Inside of Center for Lay Ministries.
Kara Brown is the executive director of CLM. She says they recently fed a record-high 84 households in one day.
"Already this month we've seen close to 1,000 clients, and there's still what, 4-5 days left in the month," Brown said.
Grocery staples are harder to find, and the price of food, especially meat, has gone up in just the past few months.
"It takes more money to get to work. It takes more money to put food in the cabinets, and our refrigerators," Sarah Langmeyer, executive director of Southwest Community Ministries in Jefferson County, said.
Langmeyer says donations continue to pour in, despite economic concerns for families.
Inside of Southwest Community Ministries.
"They've allowed us to not have as big of a gap in service. But steady isn't keeping up with this demand," she said.
With only a few days left in July, Langmeyer says the number of clients is trending up. After serving 481 households in May and 641 in June, they have handed out meals to 510 households as of July 25.
The prices of goods continues to go up, but Langmeyer and Brown say they'll keep working with volunteers and community partners to do their part, in making sure no one leaves hungry.
Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
