Pandemic causes rising food costs

#Middlebury #Seniors

Prices on so many necessary items have gone up over the past six months. Most worrisome is food.

Of all the grocery store price increases, beef and veal went up the most. But other prices also have gone up: bread, seafood, cereal, vegetables. Fresh fruit, on the other hand, reportedly went down (although not at my store), as did milk (again, not at my store, which saw a ridiculous increase). It likely won’t get better for the rest of the year.

What hasn’t gone up is our income. In fact, for those seniors who had part-time jobs to supplement Social Security, incomes have gone down because of the loss of those jobs. Yes, many of us got that $1,200 stimulus check … how many months ago?

For so many of us, the time has come to admit that we need help. It’s not easy, but it’s really not giving up any independence. There are many organizations and groups out there giving away food. Have you seen the lines of cars waiting for food pickups? The trunks of those vehicles get loaded with bags and boxes of food, gallons of milk, sacks of potatoes, frozen meat and fresh bakery goods. Other groups focus on seniors and deliver individual boxes of food to the door.

Don’t jeopardize your health because of lack of food. Pick up the phone, make calls. Find out where the free or low-cost food is in your area. Call the senior center, all the churches, the food pantry and your state’s National Council on Aging (www.ncoa.org). Get on the internet and look for seniors dining sites and Meals on Wheels, senior food boxes, Commodity Supplemental Food Program and “free food for seniors in (your state).”

This pandemic might last for a very long time. Get your food support system in place. It’s one less thing to worry about.

© 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.