The Dayton Daily News talked to area residents who have had to make do with less―including reducing the amount of food they eat, traveling to multiple stores to find the best deals, relying on credit cards ― in order to put food on the table and pay their bills.
“There are folks who have used all of their savings. There are folks who have used every bit of money that they have available,” said Lee Lauren Truesdale of The Foodbank Inc.
The bare necessities
Mary Laughter of Vandalia has utilized coupons and rebates for years, but even after finding ways to save in the past, it has been difficult for her family to keep up with costs.
“I try to buy only sale items. I shop the clearance sections of the grocery store. I’ll stop in multiple grocery stores, too,” Laughter said.
Her family’s savings have taken a hit from the cost of food, and their credit card debt is “getting ugly,” she said.
Credit: NYT
Credit: NYT
Laughter cleans houses, but she’s lost clients due to them reducing their spending.
“I’ve lost accounts because people are cutting,” Laughter said.
She and her husband sometimes skip meals, though they always make sure their grandson has food to eat, Laughter said. They have three generations living in their home so they can help their daughter, who travels for work, take care of her son.
They save money by always cooking their food themselves.
“I don’t know when the last time we even thought about eating out. We have absolutely no luxuries. Every luxury in the world has been cut. It’s just doing the bare necessities,” Laughter said.
Less food, higher costs
While eggs were once an inexpensive source of protein, cost continues to be a problem for consumers, even with the recent reduction in prices.
“There are only so many places you can cut corners. I haven’t bought eggs in months,” said Ginny Angus-Hall, who lives outside of Donnellsville. The only non-food items that she buys new are consumables like cleaning supplies and toilet paper.
“I live in fear for people who are living on Social Security and stuff like that,” said Angus-Hall, who is a retired teacher living on a pension. “I’m not rich by any means, but compared to a lot of people, I’m doing OK.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Gerald Keeton of Springfield has been decreasing his meal sizes and cutting back on meat.
“There’s not many coupons unfortunately,” Keeton said.
His weekly food budget was once $50 and is now up to around $75.
“It decreased any savings to where there are no savings now,” Keeton said.
When costs goes up, grocery carts get less full.
“And when it gets less filled, then your household has less food and groceries at home,” said Mike Walters, of Springfield.
Produce like lettuce has gotten smaller but costs more, he said.
“Sometimes the quality of the food went down but the price has gone up,” Walters said.
Reduced aid straining resources
To complicate issues with the rising costs of goods, agencies in the region that provide food and other types of assistance to those in need are having to do their own belt-tightening with less government aid and reduced donations.
In March, a total of 12 loads of ordered and anticipated food to be delivered to The Foodbank Inc. in Dayton between April and through June was canceled through the Commodity Credit Corporation, Truesdale said.
In addition, $2.5 million worth of food has been cut for fiscal year 2026 for The Foodbank. This cut represents 9% of all food distributed by the The Foodbank, Truesdale said.
Below is a summary of what food streams have been cut from The Foodbank:
- Commodity Credit Corporation, which provided $2-million worth of meat, dairy and canned/dried foods in fiscal year 2025.
- Local Food Purchase Assistance program, which provided $464,500 worth of locally sourced foods in fiscal year 2025. This is primarily meat and produce.
- Summer Feeding Program, this food went directly from The Foodbank to local schools and agencies providing summer meals for kids. The total cut for next year is $19,198 worth of food.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
House of Bread, which is located at 9 Orth Ave. in Dayton and provides daily lunches, has been seeing a consistent, big need for food from their clients, but they’ve had reduced donations.
“We rely heavily on food donations from businesses, organizations and individuals. We have seen this decrease in the recent weeks,” said Sherry Gale, House of Bread executive director.
Energy costs impact household temperatures
Energy prices are expected to rise, which is another aspect affecting food budgets. This comes at a time when the federal government laid off all of its staff for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which is a $4.1 billion program that helps millions of low-income households pay for heat during the winter and cooling in the summer.
Miami Valley Community Action Partnership, which serves Montgomery, Greene, Darke and Preble counties, processed 30,000 applications for HEAP assistance last year.
People in the area are already struggling.
“Our savings is not looking pretty the last few years. Like right now, I’ve been trying to get a furnace in my house because my furnace went out last October,” Laughter said.
Moves to save on energy costs have made some uncomfortable in their homes.
“I would like to heat my house more,” Angus-Hall said. “I heat it to about 60 degrees, and I have one room that I keep a little warmer like around 64, and I spend most of my time in that room in the cooler weather, and I sure don’t like that, but I feel like that’s what I’ve got to do.”
Don’t be afraid to seek out help
People who need help should still seek it out, Truesdale said. When it comes to budgeting, she recommended prioritizing rent and mortgage payments and then seeking out emergency food assistance through the food pantries that The Foodbank supports.
“If you’re struggling to pay your rent because you’re trying to buy food, it’s sometimes easier to access emergency food assistance than it is to get rent assistance,” Truesdale said.
| Sell by (example date) 3/15/25 or enjoy by 3/15/25 | This is a freshness date. Food is freshest by the date on the label, but still safe to after that date. Examples are milk (up to one week after the sell by date) and eggs (three to five weeks after the sell by date) |
|---|---|
| Best by 3/15/25 or best if used by 3/15/25 | This is a quality date. Food has the best quality if eaten by the listed "best by" or "best if used by" date. You can eat acidic canned foods 12-18 months after this date. You can eat non-acidic canned foods up to two to five years after this date. Examples are canned soup or vegetables. |
| EXP 3/15/25 or use by 3/15/25 | This is a true expiration date. After the expiration date, the food is not safe to eat and must be thrown away. Examples are baby food and infant formula. |
| 3/15/25 or 3 15 25 | This is a manufacturing date. It is not an expiration date. Treat this as a "best by" date and follow the appropriate above guidelines for the product. |
| A series of numbers and letters, such as: W15KA253XJ | This is a packing code. It is used only by the manufacturer. It is not an expiration date. Use the above guidelines for the product. |
There are also ways to stretch your food budgets and make your food last longer:
- Blemished or sprouted produce may still be safe to eat. The website eatortoss.com provides a comprehensive guide with pictures.
- USDA provides tips on how best to store your produce at fns.usda.gov/fs/produce-safety/storage.
- If you have a smart phone, SuperCook is a free app that generates recipe ideas based on ingredient lists.
- Freeze your leftovers by portioning out leftovers into individual servings and freeze them for a later date.
- Use social media or AI to cook on a budget. Such as, search for “3-ingredient” or “5-ingredient” meals to reduce costs or ask ChatGPT to generate a meal plan on a budget.
- Dollar Tree Dinners on YouTube at youtube.com/c/DollarTreeDinners shows how to create full meals using ingredients from dollar stores, which are a good source for people living in food deserts.
| No grace period | Medical products, baby products |
|---|---|
| 2 weeks to 3 months (if frozen) | Refridgerated dairy, such as yogurt, sour cream, cheese |
| 1 month | Processed refrigerated food |
| 3 months | Baked goods, including bread, if the goods are frozen; Milk, if frozen |
| 6 months | Drinks (not water), including powdered drinks |
| 1 year | Baking ingrediants like flour; Cereals and breakfast items; Condiments; Healthy snacks, such as crackers, nuts, granola bars, etc.; Frozen products, includes meat |
| 2 years | Water, including flavored, sparkling, coconut; Peanut butters; Soup, such as broth or ramen |
| 3 years | Rice and pasta |
| 5 years | Canned items (non-perishable foods) |
By the numbers
How much have food costs gone up?
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture:
- In 2020, food-at-home (grocery store or supermarket food purchases) prices increased 3.5% and food-away-from-home prices (restaurant purchases) increased 3.4%.
- In 2021, all-food prices increased 3.9% as prices began accelerating in the second half of the year.
- In 2022, food prices increased by 9.9%, faster than in any year since 1979. Food-at-home prices increased by 11.4%, while food-away-from-home prices increased by 7.7%.
- In 2023, food prices increased by 5.8% as economy-wide inflationary factors, supply chain issues, and wholesale food prices eased from 2022.
- Food price growth continued to slow in 2024, rising by 2.3%, as those factors combined with cooling labor pressures, lower energy prices, and changes in consumer demand.
- Food-at-home prices increased by 1.2% in 2024, lower than their historical average pace of growth, and food-away-from-home prices rose by 4.1%, slightly outpacing their historical average.
In 2025, overall food prices are anticipated to rise slightly faster than the historical average rate of growth, according to the USDA:
- In 2025, prices for all food are predicted to increase 3.2%, with a prediction interval of 1.3 to 5.1%.
- Food-at-home prices are predicted to increase 2.7%, with a prediction interval of -0.1 to 5.7%.
- Food-away-from-home prices are predicted to increase 3.7%, with a prediction interval of 2.6 to 4.9%.
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