Inflation

Boston Food Pantry Struggles Amid Inflation: ‘Angry, Frustrated and Really Helpless'

The founder of East Boston Community Soup Kitchen said it's starting to see more fresh produce from local farms due to the season, but that it is still not enough to feed everyone who is in need

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As the price of practically everything goes up, food pantries are struggling to keep up with the demand. Some are seeing so many new faces, they are running out of food.

At the East Boston Community Soup Kitchen, people line up for food every Tuesday morning. At 9 a.m., they had roughly 600 bags of food to give out. By 10:30 a.m., they had only 15 bags left and a lot more than that waiting in line.

The founder, Sandra Aleman-Nijjar, will have to turn people away for the second week in a row.

"It makes me feel angry, frustrated and really helpless because I know I'm doing my part," Aleman-Nijjar said.

The cost of everything is going up, and that's having an impact on restaurants as they start to recover from the pandemic.

She posted on Facebook about running out of food last week.

She is grateful they are starting to see more fresh produce from local farms due to the season, but she said it is still not enough to feed everyone who is in need.

"We’ve had new families with little babies and pregnant women coming looking for food. It's their first time here and yet, we do not have all of the resources we need to take care of them and their most essential need for human survival," Aleman-Nijjar said.

Gloria Hall was one of the lucky ones. She and her friend were able to load up before the soup kitchen ran out Tuesday. They do not know what they would have done without it.

"It's very hard because look at the price of eggs and the price of bread. When we go to the grocery store, we have to put things back on the shelves," Hall said.

In addition to gearing up for the crowds next week, Aleman-Nijjar is trying to secure more grants and resources so she can feed more people.

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