Some low-income parents who rely on government assistance for food say grocery stores don’t have items they can take home because panicked shoppers are purchasing some products in bulk during the coronavirus pandemic, BuzzFeed News reports.
Participants in WIC – a government nutritional assistance program for women, infants and children – can only purchase certain items and brands with their benefits, including bread, cereal, milk, juice, eggs, baby food and formula, cheese, vegetables and peanut butter.
“Before, I could just pick a store and know there would be no issues getting what we need,” Kelli Sullivan, a 30-year-old mother of two who relies on WIC, told BuzzFeed. “Now I have to stop at several stores, often with my kids, hoping to find eggs, bread, and cheese.”
The coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has infected more than 409,000 people worldwide and killed more than 18,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. In the U.S., 50,000 have been infected and more than 600 have died.
“I’m scared that we’re going to run out of food quickly since it’s four mouths that my mother is trying to feed, including herself,” said one 20-year-old college student in California who asked to remain anonymous and whose mother receives WIC benefits. “Food runs out quickly at the house, and we can’t always trust that the stores are going to have WIC-approved food during this pandemic.”
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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