Every Thursday morning as early as 6:30, Eltora Lintz, truck delivery driver for Food Bank of Northern Nevada (FBNN), arrives at the warehouse. Lintz then gets on a pallet jack and begins loading tons of fresh produce, eggs, canned goods and bread into his semi-truck.
He said Thursdays are for Parking Lot Distributions or PLDs where he meets several food pantries in one designated parking lot and evenly distributes the food supply. He said PLDs save the food bank some money on gas but it’s a different story when he goes out of town.
“That’s when I get to see how much it costs, it pretty much has doubled,” Lintz said.
Jocelyn Lantrip, director of marketing and communications of FBNN, said they have several semi trucks, box trucks and program vehicles they fill up frequently.
“We're driving out to Ely, down to Mammoth, up to Susanville, Alturas. So there's a lot of ground we're covering with all of those vehicles, and when the price of diesel goes as high as it is right now, that really affects our budget,” Lantrip said.
FBNN has been spending $7,000 more every month on gas since March. Some months fuel alone costs a total of $25,000.
The majority of their vehicles run on diesel and compared with prices of unleaded, diesel has increased significantly more.
According to AAA , as of Wednesday, Oct. 21, the average diesel price in Nevada has jumped to about $6.86, close to a $3 increase from a year ago while unleaded is currently about $5.40.
The rest of the Mountain West region is also feeling the increase at the pump. Prices for unleaded in these areas have climbed over a dollar within the past year.
Lantrip said the Food Bank has been able to keep up with demand despite rising expenses but she worries it may get to a point of having less food to give to people.
“I'm hoping that that isn't something that we are facing in the near future, but that is something that we worry about which is having enough for everyone who needs it,” Lantrip said.
Akshay Rao, marketing professor in University of Minnesota Twin Cities, said geopolitical issues including the U.S. war with Iran have affected gas prices.
“If the shock dissipates, if the war ends, prices don't come down as quickly because of something called the rocket and feathers effect,” Rao said.
He said if fuel prices continue to go up, people will have less money to spend on necessities such as groceries.
According to Feeding America, more than half a million are food insecure in Nevada meaning they don’t have enough to eat or don’t know where their next meal will come from. As a result, they turn to local food pantries for help.
Over a hundred of those pantries rely on the deliveries from the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. They serve 143,000 people every single month through distributions and direct service programs like mobile harvest and kids cafe.
Back at the warehouse, Lintz said the Food Bank is building a hub in Elko. Usually, he drives out to Elko and then to remote towns in the area. With the new hub, he would only have to stop at the city.
He said this new addition will help them save some money on gas while increasing their distribution in the area.
“So then for me, I would just go up with a trailer full of food, drop it in Elko, then I'll come back with an empty trailer,” Lintz said.
He said the Food Bank is finding ways to continue helping those in need despite higher fuel prices.
