A few weeks ago our local deli jacked the price of a small coffee to $1.25, and though we were furious at the time and vowed never to return, we understand where they're coming from now. The prices of cotton, wheat and most other commodities are on the rise according to the World Bank. Combine that with New York rents and massive unemployment and you have a "perfect storm," says Joel Berg of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. One Inwood resident said, "I will stop buying products when they get too expensive. It's getting too expensive to live in New York City. This place is for the rich."
Across the US food prices rose 1.5% last year, with the average price of bread jumping to $1.88 a pound and the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rising by 5.5%. Global wheat prices also rose 73% from June to January, and the world food price index is just 3% below the peak of 2008. World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick said, “The price hike is already pushing millions of people into poverty, and putting stress on the most vulnerable, who spend more than half of their income on food."
As it is one in five New Yorkers is on food stamps, and unemployment is at around 9.6%. And even if you're gainfully employed, life is tough; on Flushing resident noted, "My salary was not raised, but my MetroCard went up. If the service was better, I wouldn't mind."
