PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — New numbers released Friday from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show inflation has seen the largest year-over-year increase across several types of goods since 1981. Food prices are up 10% in a single year. Gas prices are up 48% since 2021. Energy costs are up 34% and used car prices are up 16%.
That’s leading more people in the Tampa Bay area to trim their budgets with many facing food insecurity for the first time in their lives.
Friday morning, a grocery giveaway event at England Brothers Park in Pinellas Park drew hundreds of people. The free food drive-through event, put on by the Pinellas County Commission, City of Pinellas Park, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and the St. Pete Free Clinic, ran out of supplies after just 75 minutes.
