The cost to purchase mostly everything has increased in recent times including what it takes to obtain the ingredients for meals. According to the most recent release of the Consumer Price Index, the cost of preparing food at home rose 2.7 percent between July 2025 and July 2026.
As costs rise, so do visits to places that offer food to people including locations in the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.
“Across the Blue Ridge, the Food Bank and our partner network are seeing a higher need for food assistance than ever in our 45-year history,” said Kari Diener, the CEO of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, in an information release to kick off September as Hunger Action Month.
The Verona-based entity provides support to food pantries in over 25 Virginia counties and eight cities with a distribution center in Charlottesville. The release states that usage of their food pantries were up four percent last year with a monthly average of 178,700 visits.
Over four years? The average is up forty percent.
As part of Hunger Action Month, the organization is seeking donations, volunteers, and advocates. Learn more at their website.
Before you go: The goal of Town Crier Productions is to increase awareness about what is happening at the local, regional, state, and federal government levels. Please share the work with others if you want people to know things. Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the September 1, 2026 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. You can either subscribe through Substack or make a charitable contribution.
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