Photo: YUKI IWAMURA/Getty Images
Charities in the United States have begun to suffer the ravages of inflationWell, although the donations were maintained compared to last year, the money is enough for less.
While the donations did not increase, the prices of practically all the products went up; until last November annual inflation was 7.7%, according to the report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“More charitable giving would be needed to keep pace with rising costs,” said Una Osili, an economist and associate dean at Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
“It is not enough that people are giving in the same amounts,” he added in a report for the AP.
Another factor that has impacted organizations like food banks is that Americans have retaken donation habits prior to the pandemicwhen they distributed donations in areas such as education and the arts.
Donors face problems
During the pandemic, many people turned to donating to food banks like the DC Food Project, a nonprofit organization that helps students with food; however, as the pandemic subsided and prices increased, donations decreased.
“During COVID-19, everyone was waiting and wanted to help if they could,” said Lucie Leblois, one of the founders of the DC Food Project,
“As a nonprofit organization, we face this challenge, but we also know that the families we support face doubly so,” Leblois said.
For food banks, food prices have risen sharply due to inflation; for example, the price of eggs has increased by almost 50%according to official data.
However, in some parts of the country, inflation and high food costs are making the need for food aid as dire as it was during the most difficult times of the pandemic, said Leslie Bacho, executive director of the food bank. regional.
“Everyone is really tense,” Bacho said. “Both financially, because our network is being hit hardLike emotionally, just from being in this emergency response mode.”
The volunteer also explained that, unlike the need that arose in the pandemic, which was temporary, inflation does not seem to let up or show signs of cooling the prices of basic products, which keeps the organizations that help on their alert.
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