Rising costs put the squeeze on Laramie’s poorest

Laramie’s safety net organizations are seeing an increased demand for services, even as the donations they receive have plummeted. This comes at a particularly difficult time for those on the margins.

The web of nonprofits dedicated to staving off homelessness and hunger — the city’s unofficial social safety net — is weakening, squeezed from all sides by both a rising demand and a dwindling supply.

The web was never able to catch everyone. Both homelessness and hunger persist in Laramie. But nonprofit workers now find themselves needing to do more with less.

Between supply chain failures, economy-wide inflation and the lifestyle changes brought on by the pandemic, fewer individuals are donating to local nonprofits. And the government-funded food banks that supply places like Laramie Interfaith are receiving significantly less from their own donors.

But locals are flocking to both Laramie Interfaith and the Laramie Soup Kitchen in need of assistance and in search of food. Both organizations are dealing with an increased demand for services that has lasted for months.

And that demand continues to rise as those on the margins look ahead to tougher times and worsening struggles. Meanwhile, many landlords are taking advantage of the inflation, and Laramie’s ongoing housing shortage, to raise rents — a profit-seeking activity that disproportionately impacts Laramie’s poorest residents.

Inflation and supply chain issues have raised the cost of everything from spaghetti to gasoline. That directly impacts poorer city residents at the cash register, but it also leads to knock-on effects at the nonprofit organizations serving that community.

When your money buys less at the supermarket, you’re more likely to supplement your groceries at Laramie Interfaith’s pantry.

Executive Director Josh Watanabe said that’s been happening more and more in recent months.

“Because the folks that we serve are disproportionately affected by this, we start to see these trends before it really gets to that public consciousness,” he said. “We saw probably a 25 percent increase in usage between February and March. And then between March and April, we saw another substantial increase in pantry usage. It’s been even busier in May.”

Meanwhile, donations have plummeted.

There’s a wider population of people who are not immediately personally threatened by the rising cost of food, who usually have just enough disposable income to get an extra bag of groceries for donation to Interfaith. Now they are spending more on their own groceries and find themselves unable to provide that donation.

“Last year, we had a number of wonderful people in the community who donated their stimulus check over to us, which really helped us get through last year,” Watanabe said. “This year, we don’t have stimulus checks. And the rising increase in gas, the cost of food, the cost of everything has gone up for folks. So even if you’re not struggling, you’re feeling that right now.”

Manufacturers are facing similar squeezes, while also dealing with supply chain issues. The result is manufacturers having less to donate. That hurts government-funded programs that take food from manufacturers and bring it to community organizations like Interfaith.

“We’ve seen a 45 percent decrease in the federal commodities program, which is TEFAP — The Emergency Food Assistance Program,” Watanabe said.

Interfaith used to have two TEFAP distribution days a month, but that’s been cut back to one day a month because, as Watanabe put it, “there’s no food to give us.”

And TEFAP is means-tested, which means the food is only allowed to go to those under a certain income threshold.

“It’s the only program we run with regard to food that has an income requirement,” Watanabe said. “And you really have to be pretty far down the rung to qualify for this. Those that are in the lowest income tier, those that are the most at risk and those who need the most from us, they’re being impacted even harder.”

Similar dynamics are playing out downtown at the Laramie Soup Kitchen.

“Donations have been all over the place,” said Ted Cramer, the soup kitchen’s executive director. “As supply chains struggle, that leaves less food for people to purchase. When there’s a shortage of food on the shelves, everything is being purchased before the best-by date, so there just isn’t a surplus to donate.”

But demand for free hot meals has only gone up.

For the past five years, the soup kitchen has served an average of about 82 people per meal.

“In the last quarter of last year, it was up to 102,” Cramer said. “And this year is somewhere above 92. The numbers are actually up quite a bit.”

Those averages also hide the spikes. Monday and Tuesday are the kitchen’s busiest days and soup kitchen staff can find themselves serving upwards of 130 people both of those days.

The staff stay flexible, preparing more meals when needed and trying to anticipate the day’s needs. But, like Interfaith, they find themselves having to do more with less.

Cramer says they’ve taken an additional hit when it comes to their donations. And that’s because the pandemic has changed people’s behavior.

Many people have gotten more deliberate in their grocery shopping to reduce trips, or might even use a shopping service to avoid entering the supermarket altogether. Cramer said these trends have reduced the impulse buying that might leave a Laramie resident with more than they need and looking to donate.

“There are a lot of things at play reducing donations,” Cramer said. “It used to be, before the pandemic, every couple of hours, somebody from the community would come by with a donation. And that’s just not happening anymore.”

Despite the challenges, both Laramie Interfaith and the Laramie Soup Kitchen are still up and running. Those looking for a hot meal can still show up to St. Matthew's Cathedral from 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. and know they’ll be fed.

Those looking for pantry staples can show up to Interfaith’s headquarters next to LaBonte Park most days between 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and know there will be vegetables, fruit, bread, milk, meat and more. Those needing rental assistance can also find help through Interfaith by calling to make an appointment.