Protect The Harvest | Food, Fuel, and Skyrocketing Prices

By Jaclyn Krymowski for Protect The Harvest

Many Americans are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. Today, two-thirds of us are living paycheck-to-paycheck and our monthly food bill is rising faster than it has in four decades. Even affluence doesn’t ensure you will not have to choose between putting food on the table or fueling the car.

The Cost of Food

Food prices are an intrinsic component of the cost of living. They directly impact all people across all income brackets. When the economy is volatile and food costs rise, the gap between the impoverished and the affluent widens along with access to food.

In the spring of 2022, 64% of Americans were living paycheck-to-paycheck. Half earned over $100,000 annually and one-third of those incomes over $250,000 were living paycheck-to-paycheck.

COVID is Being Blamed by Mistake

Many people point to COVID having initiated our current situation. This is understandable as many Americans had never experienced bare store shelves for basic essentials like toilet paper, meat, dairy, disinfecting wipes, pasta, canned goods, and pet food. Though farmers and ranchers, food processors, distributors and transporters did their best to stock shelves, America went through an experience likened to the days of rationing during World War II.

Policy is Key

Two years after COVID, we are no better off.