Inflation has caused food prices to go up 30%. Last year, a bag of potato chips at the grocery store cost an average of $5.05. That bag currently costs $6.05. A dozen eggs that could be purchased for $1.83 in 2021 now costs an average of $2.90. A two-liter bottle of soda now costs $2.17, up from $1.78.

Jennifer Barnes with the food pantry Solidarity Sandy Springs says that she has seen a significant increase in the number of people coming in for help.  According to Barnes, this year’s need is up 25-30 % compared to last year . “This time last year we were serving 450 families, and now our families are over 600 families a week,” she says.

Barns says that the “face” of those in need has also changed. “Now there are people in line that I sometimes wonder if they are here to volunteer or of they are here for food because they really look like a whole lot of us,” she says.

Many people are having to make tough choices as prices continue to climb. “We are providing a safety net so that people don’t have to decide if they are going to pay their rent or feed their family,” says Barnes.

For more information on how you can help, visit solidaritysandysprings.org.

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