TOOELE, Utah — We've all seen it: gas, groceries, rent, bills — it feels like everything is getting more expensive.
"Families and individuals are having to choose — do I put shoes on my kid, or put fuel in my car so I can go to work?” said Christy Johnson, who works with development at Switchpoint.
The Tooele Thrift Store and Pantry, run by Switchpoint, said their demand for people needing more affordable options is on the rise.
"Prices are outrageous. Can't even go to the grocery store without spending $140 on just a couple bags of groceries. It's ridiculous,” said Tiffany Galloway, who lives in Tooele.
It's hard for many families to make ends meet.
"To have a young mother maybe not change their child as frequently as they should because they don't have enough diapers — it’s tough to choose between that and maybe buying a gallon of milk,” added Johnson.
It's forcing many to make tough decisions.
"You know, there's things that kids want that I can't get because I can't afford it,” said Galloway.
The demand for items at the thrift store and the food pantry is growing, even for essential supplies.
"We have a large diaper bank, we have hygiene items — those things are very expensive, and those items you cannot buy on food stamps,” Johnson said, “And a lot of individuals food stamp benefits have been cut, but the economy is so hard right now. Fuel is going up, cost of living, housing."
People from all walks of life need a little extra help during these tough times.
Economists say that inflation has come down, but prices are still rising, and wages might not be keeping up.
"In the latest inflation report that came out yesterday. Energy — so especially gasoline costs and housing — were the two biggest components that drove the majority of that increase,” said Phil Dean, the chief economist at the Kem C. Gardener Policy Institute. “For the month of February, grocery prices flattened out, so they are much higher than they were before, but they didn't keep going up for that month, so there's maybe hope there on the horizon that that continues."
Items donated to the thrift store stay in the community, and it's making a difference.
"We have lots of requests for furniture because sometimes we see a lot of people losing their housing, but they lose, and they are getting evicted or maybe locked out of their place to stay and they have to replace everything,” Johnson said.
If you want to help, the Tooele Food Pantry and the Utah Food Bank are teaming up to host a large donation drive where you can bring money or non-perishable food items to the Deseret Peaks complex from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. You can also bring donations to the food pantry anytime.
