Rising Gas Prices Squeeze Greensboro Food Bank Guests, Local Business Owners

Christopher Townsend didn't count on $65 just to make the round trip to the Greensboro Urban Ministry food pantry. "It was ridiculous," Townsend said of the fuel bill. "I would've bought them what they wanted," he added, speaking of his children, describing a spontaneous Walmart run that rising gas prices now put out of reach.

Townsend's story is far from isolated. Brian Hahne, CEO of Greensboro Urban Ministry, said demand at the pantry on West Lee Street has surged in step with prices at the pump. "Last month, we served about 1,500 households, and we've already seen that jump in an additional 200 households," Hahne said. The ministry distributes up to 150,000 pounds of food to the community each month, supported by roughly 50 volunteers, with the pantry open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The American Automobile Association put North Carolina's average fuel cost at $3.903 per gallon, while Greensboro-area prices climbed roughly 34 percent over the past year, a gain of 94 cents per gallon. Diesel costs have risen even more sharply, reaching $5.41 per gallon, up $1.95 from a year ago.

Fellow pantry guest Billy Huffman, who has relied on the ministry every month for about two years, captured the bind plainly. "Anytime you go to fill up, it takes your life's dollars, so you look for things like this to help," Huffman said. Townsend noticed the line growing visibly longer between visits: "I was here two weeks ago, and you come running to the gate. Here today, it's been backed up slow. They've been busy."

The diesel spike cuts just as hard for mobile entrepreneurs who depend on the road for their livelihood. Joanie Attayek, owner of Greensboro's Wired Cafe Coffee Bus, runs her operation across the Triad, reaching customers in High Point, Jamestown, Elon, Summerfield, and Gibsonville. Every stop requires fuel, and at current diesel prices, a tank that once cost roughly $120 less per fill costs significantly more before a single latte is sold.

For both the working poor scraping together gas money to reach a food pantry and small-business owners pricing every gallon into their margins, the math keeps getting harder. Greensboro Urban Ministry's numbers suggest the squeeze is accelerating: an extra 200 families showing up in a single month is not a rounding error; it is a signal.