Niki Sampson, executive director of an Oregon food bank, has seen 250 additional households coming in for food assistance since May.

“Nearly 85% have never had to use a food bank program,” Sampson said, stressing the rise of seniors and residents with disabilities needing help. “Since January, it’s been inflation, inflation, inflation.”

The food bank serves approximately 5,100 households annually across rural areas.

Across the country, food banks and pantries are feeling both ends of the economic strains over inflation and higher food prices.

The community lifelines are seeing significant increases in demand while also wrestling with higher grocery and other costs.

Food prices are up 13.1% from a year ago and were up 1.3% in one month, according to the latest Consumer Price Index.

Bread prices are up 13.7% compared with a year ago and were up 1.6% from June to July. Other prices are also hammering consumers including year-over-year increases for flour (22.7%), chicken (17.6%), produce (9.3%) and baby food (15%), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“We are seeing inflation really take a bite out of people’s budgets,” said Liz Seefeldt, executive director for The Brick Ministries, which operates food pantries in the Ashland, Wis., area near Lake Superior.

The rise in gasoline prices this year has especially strained rural communities where commutes are longer and higher paying jobs and professions can be scarce.

Brenda Shaw, chief development officer for the Low Country Food Bank in South Carolina, said food costs are up as much as 40% and transportation outlays have been up as much as 50% during the current inflation wave. She said independent truckers who help the regional food bank have been hit hard by higher fuel and other costs.

“For example, a truckload of canned tuna cost $46,000 in February 2020 and is now $57,000, a truckload of peanut butter was approximately $34,000 and is now $40,000, and a truckload of diced tomatoes was $15,000 and is now $23,000,” Shaw said. “Overall transportation costs are up more than 20%, and the average cost per load to deliver produce from the Southeast has increased 50% from $1,200 to $1,500 before the pandemic to $2,400 to $3,000 now.”

Food pantries and assistance programs have also been hit by supply chain shortages including for items such as coffee, cereals, condiments and boxed meals such as Hamburger Helper.

That is according to Catie Badsing, food security programs manager for the Sun Prairie Emergency Food Pantry in the Madison, Wis., area.

She said plenty of local residents are also feeling a one-two punch of higher prices and reduced assistance.

“Inflation is a huge factor in driving demand. Also, there is less cash assistance available for families and households,” Badsing said. “Not only are prices higher, but people have less money available.”

Congress opted not to continue the universal free school lunch effort launched during the pandemic and is pulling back on some other COVID-related programs and disbursements.

Extending free school meals to all public school students nationwide cost an additional $11 billion in spending and helped approximately 10 million kids.