“It’s not helping anybody who is an average working person just trying to make a living and get by. So thank God for places like St. Matthew’s House that are providing food to everybody and assistance and we try not to come too much if we don’t have to but lately the prices have risen so high that you’re almost forced to come.”
Inflation is hitting hard all over – what used to be a struggle for the working class is now a shared struggle for the middle class.
With food prices skyrocketing, some Southwest Florida residents may find themselves at a food shelter for the first time.
Thursday, Saint Matthew’s House held a food distribution at the First Haitian Baptist Church in Naples.
Fox 4 spoke with many families affected by food prices going up. A few people had shared that this distribution is their only source of food income for the week.
Lorna McLain, Director of Food Assistance says that the number of families coming to food drives at St. Matthew’s has increased substantially in 2022.
“We are seeing different types of families coming through our lines; we are seeing first-time families, middle-class families, some families on social security, it really varies. It does not matter what type of families come through the line, we are here to help,” said McLain.
McLain said that there are ways to help families who have more mouths to feed with their three to four other food distributions a week. The families in need of immediate assistance are asked to contact St. Matthew’s House directly at 239-774-0500.
Another Naples couple shared that their only source of income is their social security and the amount that was raised on social security this year was not enough to cover what is charged for medicare.
“Insurance in the state of Florida is totally out of reach for people like us who are on social security, we can’t afford it; we are taking our chances and hoping there is no big storm.” the couple also shared that is why they are grateful for food distributions like St. Matthew’s House.
The next Saint Matthew’s food drive held this Saturday and Sun-N-Fun Lagoon Center at North Collier Park from 9 AM - 1 PM.
