Feeding families: how one dynamic US food bank is taking on inflation

Volunteers sort food items into boxes at the Alabama Food Bank distribution center in Birmingham. Photograph: Charity Rachelle/The Guardian

There was purposeful work being done inside the expansive food bank warehouse, with Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean blasting from a small stereo near the loading dock to help spur the groups of volunteers inside the 60,000-sq-ft facility.

Almost two years into the pandemic, and now with inflation at a 40-year high, a typical day at the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama (CFBCA) reveals an abundance of activity and cheer belying the steep odds these neighborhood lifelines face.