May 24—THE most insidious thing about inflation is that it inflicts its most pain upon those with the least economic resources.

Having more money doesn't make inflation painless but if you have a six-figure income, you'll be able to absorb a 20% increase in gasoline prices more easily than someone earning minimum wage and depending on a vehicle and the fuel it consumes for their work commute.

The same goes for food. Between 2019 and 2023, food prices increased by 25%, as measured by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Consequently, the number of people dealing with food insecurity is rising.

Between 2021 to 2022, Feeding America said in its "Mind the Meal Gap" report that food insecurity increased from 10.4% to 13.5%. That means 44 million Americans are at risk of not getting enough to eat.

And inflation is only one of the factors whipsawing families to make mealtime more economically inaccessible. The latest Feeding America report covers a span when the federal Covid-era expanded child tax credit expired.

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reported that the U.S. child poverty rate — 12.6% in 2019, just before the pandemic — fell to 5.2% in 2021 before the expanded child tax credit expired.

In 2022, child poverty rebounded to 12.4%, almost exactly where it was before the pandemic.

The local statistics are, if anything, even more dire.

The Mercer County Food Bank reported this week that Feeding America reported that 15,410 people — including 4,390 children — of our neighbors in this county are at risk of not having enough to eat.

That translates to a 16% increase in demand so far this year for the food bank's services. As of last week, the food bank has distributed 1.1 million pounds of food since Jan. 1.

The food bank is at the vanguard of local efforts to care for those at risk of hunger, with efforts like the Mobile Pantry, Military Share and PA Senior Food Box.

To ease childhood hunger, the food bank offers the BackPack Program, which provides elementary and middle school students with nutritious food to take home on the weekends, and Myron's Meal Mobile, which delivers hot lunches throughout the county during the summer when students aren't getting meals at school.

The food bank also provides meals to about 40 member agencies throughout the county

With hunger on the rise, the Mercer County Food Bank needs community donations, and while gifts of food — like the 6,733 pounds collected May 11 in the county during the National Association of Letter Carriers annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive — financial donations go a lot further.

To make a food bank donation, contact the agency at 724-981-0353 or visit its website at mercercountyfoodbank.org. For links to sources used in this editorial, read the story online at sharonherald.com.