HOUSTON – With the holidays right around the corner, the Houston Food Bank said it’s feeling the impact of rising food prices.
“We try not to buy a lot but it is putting a pinch on what we do have to buy and it is impacting donations,” said Brian Greene, president. “For us, the biggest impact that we’re seeing is it’s a lot harder for us to get fresh produce.”
He said there are challenges with meat as well.
“Because of the rising prices, there’s less demand for the meat so the grocers are not selling as much, so they’re not ordering as much, and that’s generating less surplus for us,” Greene said.
But there are some bright spots.
“Right now, we’re getting a lot of milk,” Greene said. “There’s over supply of milk and that’s good for us, and so we lose in one direction, and we try and gain in another,” Greene said.
While those in need turn to the organization for help, the food bank has some needs of its own, including volunteers.
“That’s the engine that makes it work for the food bank is we do everything with volunteers as much as possible,” Greene said.
He said the food bank had to reduce how many people could volunteer when COVID-19 hit. While those numbers have since increased, there’s still a need for more.
As for food prices, Greene said the increase is just something the food bank will have to get through and he expects the situation to improve over time.