DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Affording groceries is a growing problem in the U.S.
According to Feeding America, 47 million people in America are considered food insecure.
WATCH BELOW: Delray Beach woman wonders 'why everything just keeps going up'
The problem is growing because of the surge in grocery costs since the pandemic, and now some benefits could be decreasing.
WPTV recently spoke with a Delray Beach woman who shared her struggles with food insecurity.
We met Jaszmine Williams at her apartment after she reached out to us because she wanted "to be a voice" to explain what many people in this country face when feeding their families.
She has two sons and described feeding everyone as "pretty tough."
Williams has a job, but with the rising cost of living in Florida, she also relies on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and a food pantry available at the Jewish Family Services in Boca Raton.
"Every other week, they provide fruits and vegetables," Williams said. "They also provide toiletries, so sometimes they'll provide paper towels there, and they give you a list you can choose the items that you need."
We spoke to Dr. Craig Gundersen at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, who has researched food insecurity for 25 years.
"Kudos to (Williams) for putting together all these different things," Gundersen said. "I'm always so impressed with the resourcefulness of low-income Americans."
According to Feeding America, 3.2 million Floridians are food insecure. In other words, that's 1 in 7 people in the third-largest state in the country who do not have access to sufficient food. Among children, that figure is 1 in 5.
Williams said balancing cost and nutrition can be hard, and the struggle only seems to get more difficult.
"I have no idea why everything just keeps going up," Williams said.
Read more of WPTV's coverage on food insecurity:
Food
FOOD INSECURITY: This is how many people are affected in our area
Education
