Center for People in Need sees growing demand as inflation continues

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Summer is always a busy time for the Center for People in Need in Lincoln but right now, with ongoing inflation, they’re seeing more people than usual seeking out their services.

Monday through Friday they run a grocery store where families who qualify can get food for free once a week and this summer they’ve been swamped.

In June, 2,626 families received food from the center. That’s up 138 families from the month before. The center said they have lots of familiar faces stop by most weeks, but nowadays more people are coming back and starting to come for the first time.

“Demand has certainly been higher because of increasing prices, gasoline, cost of goods, delay of goods so we are definitely seeing more people on average than we have in past,” said Steve Sheridan the deputy director.

The center has also remodeled the amount of food that families are allowed to take, increasing it to fit the needs of families they are seeing come through the doors.

That’s helping larger families from lincoln and larger families of refugees who have resettled here in recent months.

Right now, 2022 is on a similar pace when compared to goods distributed in 2020, the year the pandemic started. In 2021, they saw a drop-off of sorts and now it’s picking back up again.

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