Rising prices at the gas pump and the grocery store make it hard for some North Texas families to make ends meet. Because of that, food banks are seeing the number of people in need match the peak of the pandemic.
"The food is expensive right now,” grandmother Sonya Herandez said. “That is the big problem. Before it was $100 a week, now it's $200 a week."
The faith-based nonprofit Christian Community Action (CCA) in Lewisville knows that the current economy is taking a toll on so many people.
"They are struggling,” CCA president and CEO Gilbert Montez said. “They're struggling to make ends meet and many of the families that we're helping they're working families. They just can’t make ends meet."
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It operates a food pantry that runs like a grocery store. Families choose what they need and will use.
"I've got four children at home and just getting them these extras and stuff it's really beneficial," mother of four Mary Cruz said.
Montez said the numbers CCA serves now are climbing back up to the levels seen in March of 2020.
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That's more than 500 families a month coming through the pantry. CCA also issues about $160,000 a month for rent, mortgage, and utilities assistance.
“That $160,000 that we've done over the last few months ranks up in the top five months of financial distribution that we did during the height of the pandemic,” Montez said. “These last few months are equal, very much equal to what did in the height of the pandemic."
That extra need is also causing CCA to need help from supporters, donors and volunteers.
"We have stretched that budget as far and as hard as we can,” Montez said. “Each month we are looking at the nickles and pennies and trying to make sure we don't turn any family away."
Through their faith, they'll continue that mission of helping others.
Click here to learn more about Christian Community Action
