A recent survey found that the majority of Texans say food costs are rising faster than their incomes, and nearly half say they have been forced to cut back on their purchases of protein and fresh produce.
No Kid Hungry, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit run by the organization Share Our Strength, released the grim findings: Texas Hunger Survey It was released last week.
In a survey conducted in late July, a massive 81% of 1,133 respondents said that food costs were rising faster than their income, and 76% said they were having difficulty buying groceries.
Nearly half of respondents (49%) said they had cut back or stopped buying protein to stay within their budget, and 43% said the same about fresh produce.
Forty-two percent of respondents said they were buying more unhealthy foods because they were cheaper, and parents with children attending K-12 public schools and whose household incomes are less than $50,000 per year are particularly likely to sacrifice healthier options.
“In the past 12 months, the majority of Texas families with students attending public K-12 schools (60%) and the state's rural residents (56%) had to choose between paying for food and other necessities,” No Kid Hungry said.
According to the survey, utilities were the basic necessity most often paid for in exchange for food.
Houston, Texas, had the highest food inflation rate in April. Houston Chronicle It was reported, Citing the United States Department of Agriculture data.
In 2023, the city's grocery prices are expected to rise an astounding 7.8%, beating second-place Boston, Massachusetts, which saw an increase of 7%.
Rising food prices are affecting Texans' mental health, with more than half of respondents (56%) saying they feel more stressed about thinking about how to afford enough nutritious food than they did 12 months ago.
This trend was particularly evident among families with students attending public schools (61%) and those living in rural areas (62%).
