Dear Friends,
I was at lunch with a friend last week who has a well-paying job in Central Georgia but is far from a wealthy individual. We were discussing poverty and the ubiquitous effects of rising prices on seemingly every aspect of the economy. He told me that he and his wife started tracking their food expenditure and were shocked to learn that nearly 25% of their take-home pay was going to food! They were stunned.
I jokingly asked him what it was like to have lobster and filet mignon every night but the harsh reality is my friend’s family budget is increasingly the norm. Going to the grocery store is incredibly more expensive than before the pandemic and for many Americans, eating out has become a luxury they can no longer afford.
The Macon Telegraph recently published a story detailing how the price of a McDonald’s quarter-pounder with cheese meal is now $12. The price of a Big Mac Meal went from $5.99 in 2019 to $12.69 and the price of a medium fry went from $1.79 to $4.79. For a family of four to go to lunch, it’s almost impossible to spend less than $60. If a family goes to dinner together, the bill will likely be closer to $100. The days of the dollar menu are long gone.
We now live in an economy where a cheeseburger is a luxury that many Americans cannot afford. For those who try to cut costs by going to the grocery store to make their own burgers, the price hikes are just as severe. According to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, the price for a pound of ground beef in February of 2020 was $3.80. Less than five years later, the price has jumped 72% to $5.23.
As the country is gearing up for a presidential election, price hikes have quickly morphed into a political football. Republicans blame the Democrats. Democrats blame the Republicans. A bipartisan mix from both sides blame corporations and the Federal Reserve. But what’s lost in the conversation is the harsh reality that ALICE families are facing right now. While food prices have gone up 50% to 100% in four years, salaries have not. Many families who are Asset Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed (ALICE) are grasping at straws to keep their family housed and fed.
United Way’s bold goal is to help 15,000 ALICE families in Central Georgia find financial stability. When you support us, you support an 82-year-old veteran awarded a Purple Heart who can’t afford to repair his A/C unit. You support the 20+ children who live at the Brookdale Resource Center because their families had nowhere else to go. You support the single mom whose car broke down and needs transportation to work so she won’t get fired and fall into poverty. When you support United Way, you support those in Central Georgia who need help the most. I hope you will join me.
With heartfelt gratitude,
George McCanless
President & CEO
United Way or Central Georgia
