Wolf.17 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 A locked door at the back of a welcoming house opens and a long line of people, spanning the yard, move forward, each person showing a small ticket as they enter. This is the Home House of Erie, a food pantry that gives out food three mornings a week in a neighbourhood on the edge of Erie, Pennsylvania. At the back of the queue, Megan pushes her 18 month-old daughter in a pram while trying to wrangle her three-year-old twins, who are still in their pyjamas. Her five other children are at school. "I come almost every time they're open," says 31-year-old Megan, who is unemployed and single. "It's a lot of good nutritious food in here." Inside the house, which is laid out like a supermarket, she will pick up fruit, vegetables, meat, bread and other staples. While she receives food stamps and Medicaid health insurance, getting free food is a "godsend... it would be a bigger struggle if they weren't here," she says. Her circumstances will resonate with many Americans hit by a cost of living crisis and stubborn inflation. But here in Erie, there is extra reason for both presidential candidates to take heed. President Joe Biden will spend half of next week in the state. Erie meanwhile is a key swing county that acts as a bellwether for the rest of Pennsylvania. And it is in Erie, where one in eight people are considered food insecure, that inflation is a priority election issue. Unemployment is only 4% here, close to the national average, and homelessness is relatively low, according to the mayor's office for the city of Erie. But the food poverty is because of the price of groceries, says Kevin Nelson, the program director at Home House of Erie. Prices in Pennsylvania are rising faster than in any other state, according to Datasembly Consumer Price Index - up 8.2% in the last year and nearly 25% over the last four years. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68803926 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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