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Atlanta Community Food Bank says its seeing surge in visitors as pandemic assistance dries out

One of the largest hunger-relief organizations in the southeast, The Atlanta Community Food Bank is starting to feel increased pressure.

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Community Food Bank, one of the largest hunger-relief organizations in the southeast, is beginning to see another surge in visitors as pandemic assistance programs end and as inflation rises.

The organization supplies food to more than 700 partner organizations across 29 counties in metro Atlanta and North Georgia. They distribute close to 400 pounds of food every day and 90 million pounds of food each year, according to their CEO and President Kyle Waide. 

Waide said the increase in demand for the food bank is not surprising.

"We certainly hear from our partners that they are seeing more traffic at their pantry locations. They have heard clients say that these increased costs that they're facing are contributing to why they need more help with food. And you know, that's not surprising," he said.  

For some families that can mean spending an extra $300 more a month with inflation costing the average U.S. household an additional $296 per month, a Moody’s Analytics analysis found.

The national average inflation for the U.S. has hit 6.2%. The Atlanta area had the highest inflation among metropolitan areas with 9.8% for the 12 months through December, according to the Labor Department

Waide said that food banks will also be affected negatively by federal assistance programs ending. These programs include The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and Child Nutrition Waivers

To find out how to help the Atlanta Community Food Bank click here.

   

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