At The Monroe Food Pantry, Inflation Is The New Virus

MONROE, CT — Coronavirus infection rates in the state may be on a rollercoaster, but food insecurity has remained high and steady, since the start of the pandemic.

Food pantries and food banks have experienced a 55 percent spike in usage through the pandemic, according to the latest data from Feeding America, the nation's largest network of food pantries and food banks.

Julie Banks is the coordinator of the Monroe Food Pantry. She started out as a volunteer in November 2020, going into the first winter of COVID. The demand for the pantry's services were peaking then, and has not really subsided by much, she said.

"The needs are consistent, but the reasons are different," Banks told Patch. Inflation is the new virus, and it's running rampant.

The Associated Press reported on Thursday that inflation in the U.S. is at a 40-year high and gas prices have been surging since April 2020, with the average cost nationwide briefly hitting $5 a gallon in June.

Butter has become hard to come by, Banks said, and the price in recent years has fluctuated more than oil's. The shortage is further aggravated by the commodity's perishability.

Toiletries are also in big demand.

"I don't think people think of us in terms likes that, because we are a food pantry," Banks said. "But we always go through things like shampoo, conditioner, bars of soap, toothpaste, floss, paper towels, laundry detergent, stuff like that."

A complete list of items needed by the pantry can be found online here.

Located at 980 Monroe Turnpike, the pantry typically gets busier in the summer months, pandemic or not, as children are home from school. Many disadvantaged kids who are fed regularly by the state during the school year look for alternate sources of nutrition in the summer months.

"It's also tough for people who may have lost their jobs, and we have a lot of seniors on fixed income," Banks said.

Some of the adaptations and accommodations the pantry made for the pandemic continue, even as infections lighten up. The pantry still encourages clients to place their orders in advance so that pantry volunteers can do their "shopping" ahead of time. That way, customers can just drive up and receive what they need without ever getting out of their car.

"We've got it down to such a science that maybe it takes just 20 minutes to put the order together," Banks said.

To help offset their rising costs of keeping Monroe's food insecure population fed, the pantry will be holding a "Dab and Gab" event on July 28. For a donation of $40, local artist Susan Wernau will guide participants in the painting of either two coffee mugs or two wine glasses (or one of each, all provided) at the Rotary Pavilion at Wolfe Park from 6 until 8 p.m. To RSVP, call 203-452-2817 or email jbanks@monroect.org by July 20.