FRANKLIN — Keeping groceries in the fridge is getting harder for some residents.
Local food pantries said the cost of food, higher rent, utility bills and more are leading to an uptick of people needing food assistance.
"We love everything they give us," said Heather Linneman.
Heather Linneman is thankful she can rely on fresh produce and food for her family from the Interchurch Food Pantry of Johnson County.
"I am on disability, so it's not an always steady income, so it's really good for us to have this holdover until we get those paychecks," said Linneman.
Executive Director Carol Phipps said the pantry has seen a 20% increase in customers compared to this time last year.
"We're open six days a week. On a typical day, we serve 175 households who come to visit," said Phipps. "They're just tight on money and can't get by. We're also hearing the fear of what's happening with food stamps and Medicaid."
She said the rising costs of living are part of the reason new faces are visiting.
"Many of them are first-time people that really have never had to seek help before and are very appreciative. We hear that overwhelmingly," said Phipps.
Hunger Incorporated on the south side is also seeing more people.
"We are seeing a big increase on families that never would actually ever go to a food pantry before, a lot of new families every day," said Phil Christie.
Hunger Inc. went from serving 30 to 40 families a day to 50 to 60.
"For our pantry, we're a smaller pantry, so we require everybody lives in the zip code ending in seven, and that's basically Perry Township, part of Franklin Township, and part of Beechgrove, and they are welcome to come here once a month," he said.
Christie said those zip codes were chosen about 40 years ago and remain the focus area for the pantry.
He said if you live nearby and need assistance to check in with Gleaners or click here.
Phipps shares how other folks can help their neighbors in need.
"What I'd like the public to know is that there's a portion of our population that is really hurting through the changes that are happening, and things that they can do to help is volunteering at their local food pantry," Phipps said. "When we see the numbers go up, we need more people behind the scenes in order to be able to handle that."
Phipps said volunteers are vital to their operation.
"Our volunteers work so hard; we could use more volunteers. Other things that food pantries need are food donations and monetary donations, and that goes really far in helping those that are struggling," said Phipps.
