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Knoxville seniors struggling with rising cost of food

The Consumer Price Index said the price of groceries in the U.S. has gone up by 10% over the last year.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As food and gas prices increase, the Knoxville Knox County Community Action Committee Office on Aging said they have received more calls from seniors asking for help finding food. 

Carl Reichert is an 83-year-old retiree who spends his mornings playing pool at the John T. O'Connor Senior Citizen's Center. 

Reichert said over the past few months, he's had to change the way he buys food. 

"I cut down on my fruit, my good juices, my proteins I like," Reichert said. "I'm back on bologna and hot dogs." 

Dottie Lyvers, the director of the CAC Office on Aging said costs have forced more seniors to turn to processed meats, not ideal for someone like Reichert who had a triple-bypass five years ago. 

In 2022, the federal government gave people on Social Security a cost of living adjustment. Reichert said he amounted to around $80 a month. 

"I went and got 15 gallons of gas two weeks ago and $30 worth of groceries," Reichert said. "So that's gone. That $80 raise is gone."

Reichert worked in sales for decades, but at 83, he can't go back to work to try to pay for food. 

"I'll have to admit when I get up, it takes me a while to get going," Reichert said. 

The CAC Office on Aging said people on Social Security may not know they could qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits.

"Sometimes it could be they get $20 a month, sometimes they could receive $100 a month," Lyvers said. 

The Office on Aging is working with Reichert to make him eligible for SNAP benefits. 

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