Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

The clients begin arriving at the Lansing Community Food Pantry, about 25 miles southeast of Downtown Chicago, before the doors even open on Tuesday mornings.

Some line up in their cars. Others arrive on bicycles. These days, clients are even known to bring suitcases to carry away the fruits, vegetables, canned goods, and other items that Jim Lange and other volunteers ready for them.

While all of these signs of need and struggle sadden Lange, he’s bothered most of all by the sight of seniors who trudge to the pantry pushing empty carts, their shoestring budgets stretched to the breaking point by America’s growing affordability crisis.

Donald Trump won the election in 2024 with a promise to bring down costs of groceries and other items on “day one” of his administration.

He failed. Instead, he’s making life harder, observed Lange, a longtime member of the United Steelworkers (USW).

Americans spend more on groceries and other essentials today than they did a year ago. The cost of beef alone soared 15 percent, while the prices of bananas and coffee jumped about 7 percent and 19 percent, respectively.

Yet it’s more than food. Electricity bills spiked 5 percent, and families also have to dig more deeply into their pockets to pay for

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