As Grocery Prices Rise, San Francisco Food Drive Attempts To Help

San Fransisco, CA (AHN) - With the cost of groceries spiraling upward around the world more people are at risk of hunger and that includes nearly 150,000 people in San Fransisco where legal firms today are ending their annual Food from the Bar food drive.

It is the 16 year that the Bar Association of San Fransisco has teamed up with local law firms to collect food for hungry children. The goal this year is to raise $300,000, collect 25,000 pounds of food and complete 650 volunteer shifts at the San Fransisco Food Bank warehouse, according to a statement on the food bank's website.

The food drive couldn't come at a more critical time.

Food prices in April increased by 09 percent, the highest percentage increase in 18 years.

There were increases in all six grocery categories, according to the Consumer Price Index figures released earlier this week.

According to the San Fransisco Food Bank, hunger in San Fransisco is largely hidden but affects individuals and families with children as well as the elderly.

"Many of the people who need food assistance have full- or part-time jobs. But in a city where housing costs are among the highest in the nation, a full-time job does not guarantee that a family will be able to make ends meet," San Fransisco Food Bank officials say.

The food bank also reports that among low-income people, choosing between food, health care and rent is a frequent dilemna.

And it isn't a dilemna that is likely to end any time soon with experts saying that 2008 is expected to be the second year of the highest inflation in food prices in two decades.