St. Louis Fed says more people recently turned to food pantries as SNAP benefit freeze looms

More people have turned to food pantries to make ends meet in recent months, and St. Louis-area food banks expect that demand to rise as a freeze of SNAP benefits in Missouri looms.

A recent forecast from the St. Louis branch of the Federal Reserve reported a "slightly pessimistic” economic outlook and pointed to increased use of food pantries throughout the region as an indicator of a straining economy.

“Community contacts report rising food pantry usage among both low- and middle-income households, growing reliance on ‘buy now, pay later’ services, and elevated credit card delinquency rates,” said the region’s report in the Federal Reserve’s October Beige Book publication.

The Federal Reserve’s 12 regional districts publish reports eight times a year in the Beige Book, summarizing ane