The 61-year-old has stage 4 endometrial cancer and low income. For eight months, she has been dependent on MANNA’s food, a nonprofit that provides free meals to more than 1,200 sick people in Philadelphia.
“I’ve also gained a few pounds despite my illness,” Greenlee said. “God only knows how grateful I am for the food.”
But Manna is in trouble. He says the cost of his food has gone up 40%, and by December he’ll have to stop taking in new customers—maybe hundreds of them.
“This will break our hearts,” said MANNA CEO Sue Dougherty. “But we couldn’t have planned for it in a million years.”
Right now, schools and nonprofits are dealing with food supply price increases and shortages.
Food banks across the country are facing a drop in donations.
“What we see is that our food banks are having to increase purchases, which is costing them a lot of money to get the food they need for their communities,” said Katie Fitzgerald, COO of Feeding America. “Donated food is also being reduced because of the increased cost of food. For example, manufacturers are able to give us less because they can sell that food in the secondary market, as its value has increased.” “
At El Paso’s Fighting Hunger, a large food bank in El Paso, Texas, demand has quadrupled since the start of the pandemic. Now, truckloads of food aren’t showing up to their desert community.
“We’re struggling every day to find enough supplies,” said CEO Susan Goodell. “We are completely dependent on manufacturers, suppliers, brokers, retailers, et cetera. So at the end of the day, we don’t control our destiny when it comes to how much food is actually available.”
The Texas food bank is already dealing with a labor shortage that forced it to close three of its five locations, forcing some families to travel long distances to get their food.
“The biggest fear is that we [don’t] There’s enough food to feed people,” she said. “If they don’t come in, I’ll use my money to buy them turkey for a nice Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
Supply chain problems have also affected schools, with food delivery being continually delayed or cancelled.
In June, the grocer for Philadelphia’s school district left him, citing a lack of supply chains and an employee. District orders have been unpredictable throughout the year.
“It’s really the vendors that aren’t producing the products,” said Amy Virus, the district’s manager of administrative and support services. “We’re really working behind the scenes to make sure we have something on the menu for the students.”
Different items are going missing every week in their schools. Right now, they’re running out of paper trays. The district is making changes to the daily menu, even as their food staff is short of more than 20 per cent.
The district insists that there has been no change in the quality and quantity of their food. But Stephanie Marrero began packing lunch for her four children over concerns about their nutrition.
“They came home hungry every day and wanted a full meal as soon as they walked in the door,” Marrero said, adding that the lunch pack had become a financial burden for his family.
a nationwide school problem
School districts across the country are facing equitable supply problems.
“Our vendors don’t have enough labor to produce all of the food and supplies we order, and distributors don’t have enough truck drivers to bring the goods,” said Beth Wallace, president of the School Nutrition Association. “That’s why our school’s nutrition professionals are putting a lot of effort into getting healthy food on trays for all of our students every day.”
Cincinnati public schools are missing 20 foods every week. Denver schools are not getting enough milk. And Dallas public schools are adding more finger foods, like chicken tenders, because they can’t get enough of the utensils.
Prince George’s County, Maryland, in the public school district, canceled take-home spurs, citing supply chains that largely benefit children from low-income families.
Oscar Rivera has two sons in the district, and he is currently unemployed. His family is now spending more on groceries and is turning to food banks to put dinner on the table.
“We can no longer say ‘we’re going to have fun’ because we have to buy food first,” Rivera said through an interpreter. “Food is the most important thing that can be in the house. Toys don’t matter, going out doesn’t matter, but food matters.”
Still, districts are reporting increased food budgets. This includes Philadelphia, where the additional spending has not bought the fixture.
“I have a few things in my office and one of them is: ‘What’s the crisis this week,'” said Amy Virus of the Philadelphia School District. “We’re getting good at it, but it’s really a grind and we need some stability in the supply chain.”
CNN’s Matt Egan contributed to this report.
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