Rising Costs Hurt ALICE Families
Common wisdom tells us never to grocery shop when we are hungry, as we are more likely to make impulse purchases and stray from our shopping budget. Unfortunately, for many families, food insecurity makes that nearly impossible advice to follow. And with increasing consumer prices, family budgets are being stretched in every category, making it more important than ever to make the most of every dollar.
When you have more month than money, hard choices must be made. Dave Ramsey, of Ramsey Solutions, suggests paying for these Four Walls first (and in this order):
- Food
- Utilities
- Shelter
- Transportation
With rising food costs (which climbed another 1.2% in May), the Food Wall seems difficult to climb. This leaves less and less each month for the remaining walls, and those hard choices are getting harder and harder.
While the rising cost of consumer goods has implications for every one of us, ALICE families are the ones who are hit the hardest. Summer is a particularly difficult time for young families in Charlotte County, when children are home from school and when air conditioner use goes up. The higher need for food and electricity add to an already thinly stretched budget for ALICE.
ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These folks are working (sometimes more than one job) but are struggling to make ends meet. Most of these individuals and families have little, if any, money in a savings account for the inevitable bump in the road.
United Way of Charlotte County (UWCC) is focused on filling in the gap for ALICE families when they hit that bump in the road through Season of Sharing. As funds are available, Season of Sharing provides assistance for rent, mortgage and utility payments. UWCC serves as the fiscal agent, working with local case managers to review applications for assistance and to administer the funds.
Season of Sharing was created by the Herald-Tribune Media Group and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County in 2000 and the need is greater today. Missing one rent payment can cause a family’s finances to spin out of control until the eviction notice is on the door. And one missed utility payment, with added late fees, turns that bump in the road from a molehill into a mountain fairly quickly. Season of Sharing is there to prevent an illness or unexpected car repair from leaving a family homeless.
When you take your next grocery shopping trip (hopefully when you are NOT hungry), take note of how much your favorite foods have increased in price in the past few months. Remember that while some walls are there for our protection, other walls act as a barrier. The Food Wall is beginning to look more like a barrier to our ALICE families.
But when we are a Community United, we can come together to help our neighbors; to help ALICE. When you support Season of Sharing, either through the Community Foundation of Sarasota County or UWCC, you can help ensure that a Charlotte County family will be able to maintain their Four Walls for another month.
Donations to the Season of Sharing fund may be made online (www.unitedwayccfl.org/season-sharing), or by sending a check payable to the Community Foundation of Sarasota County to:
Season of Sharing
c/o Community Foundation of Sarasota County
2635 Fruitville Road
Sarasota, FL 34237
Contact the Foundation at 941-955-3000 for more information or to request a credit card form. Be sure to let the Foundation know which county you wish to support (i.e., Charlotte County). Donations that are made through the Foundation are used to directly provide financial relief to our ALICE families. Every dollar received is a dollar that will be used to cover a rent, mortgage or utility payment for a struggling family.
UWCC serves as the fiscal agent, administering these funds to local individuals and families. While there are costs associated with managing these funds and distributing them to those in need, we receive no financial support for this work. To support UWCC in administering the Season of Sharing funds, donations can be made on our website www.unitedwayccfl.org or by calling our office at 941-627-3539.
For more information about United Way of Charlotte County’s mission: Mobilizing the power of our community to break the cycle of poverty, please contact Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director. She can be reached at director@unitedwayccfl.org.