Little brains need food. Research suggests that nourished kiddos do better in school. One study from 2019 even found that exposure to food-stamp benefits increased the lifetime earnings of needy kids by up to 7 percent on average. So it matters when parents are having trouble stocking their fridges and cabinets—and in the St. Louis region, according to nonprofits and pantries, this has been happening since the pandemic, and there are signs it’s getting worse.

“Every year since COVID we’ve broken a record, and this year we’re going to break it again,” says Rob Telthorst, director of St. Anthony’s Food Pantry in Dutchtown. On a recent afternoon, he pauses in the corner of a basement pantry that’s crowded with volunteers helping guests fill carts with canned goods, pasta, frozen chicken, milk, and bread.