Latest inflation data showed a 3.4% increase in wholesale prices from last year, hitting grocery prices the hardest and increasing food pantry demand. Notably, vegetable prices jumped by 50% and fruit by 10 percent.
This increase comes as oil prices also made a stark jump this month due to the Iran War. As a result, operational costs for the farms that supply produce in grocery stores and food pantries are also rising, adding further strain.
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Community of Hope Ministries in Garner is one of those food pantries that feels that pressure.
“When you look at the overall costs, operational costs for large farms, we know that impact will trickle down to us and our ability to buy retail,” Amy White, Executive Director of Community of Hope Ministries, said.
Despite the strain, long-time clients of Community of Hope Ministries remain thankful for the organization’s services.
“When I come [to Community of Hope Ministries], everything [in stock] is what I like,” Barbara Winston, a Garner resident for more than 40 years, said.
Winston, 78, has been visiting the Community of Hope Ministries' food pantry for more than a decade, struggling to provide food for herself. Winston is part of the 12% in Wake County who are food insecure, according to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.
Organizations like Community of Hope, which provided more than 600,000 meals in 2025, play a critical role in ensuring that local families do not have to make impossible choices between essentials.
“When you are having to make the choice between paying a power bill, keeping the water on, making sure you have safe transportation to work and feeding every person in your family, it’s a very tough choice,” White said.
In February 2026 alone, Community of Hope served 597 households, providing enough groceries for 46,137 meals.
Families can visit the food pantry and receive a bag of groceries catered to their needs. The contents and amount of bags are based on the number of people in their household, dietary restrictions and preferences.
Jen Norton, a mother of one, relied on Community of Hope’s food pantry for several years when her husband suffered a tragic brain injury, and her sister was diagnosed with Leukemia and needed to recover from a bone marrow transplant.
While Norton and her family are not currently in need of grocery assistance, she knows she can always rely on Community of Hope if her family’s needs change.
“I think it’s a fear for everybody in this world right now, as prices grow and gas gets higher and higher,” Norton said. “And those of us who still have to drive and commute, it’s a nice feeling to know that the community still has this here. It’s a very comforting feeling to know that if we ever need to fall back on it, it’s still here for us and available.”
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Amanda Mohamad is a senior at the University of Miami double-majoring in broadcast journalism and media management graduating this May, and a 2026 CBC-UNC News Media Multiplatform Fellow. She is an anchor and reporter at the University of Miami’s broadcast television station UMTV and a former News Intern with WSVN-7 News in Miami, and is seeking MMJ/Reporter positions after graduation.
