Food pantries are running out of supplies while large retailers are noticing pronounced drops in spending on the days leading up to shoppers getting a paycheck. The poor and even middle income working families increasingly can’t afford to make even basic food purchases and are going without.
7-Eleven says grocery sales are up 12% while other sales are flat. People are making emergency food purchases there rather than going to a supermarket. This seems counter-intuitive, as 7-Eleven charges more, but the reason is probably so they won’t be tempted to buy more food once at a supermarket, something which is telling and sad.
When hard working people with jobs increasingly can’t afford basic food and rely on food pantries, something is seriously wrong indeed.