68% of Cook County residents cut back on utilities due to cost
A local survey found nearly four in ten people cite groceries as their largest expense while food pantry demand triples.
By Leila Mansour ·
Most neighbors in Cook County are cutting back on basic services to keep their budgets balanced.
An unscientific survey of more than 1,200 residents in greater Chicagoland found that 68 percent of respondents limited their use of utilities because of high costs. About 34 percent of those surveyed said they were just getting by financially. Nearly 40 percent identified groceries as their biggest expense. Just over 10 percent reported using a food pantry. These figures reflect the strain on household budgets across the region.
Kammi Fox-Kay, a registered nurse with 38 years of experience in the oncology field, shared her own strategy for making ends meet. She works part-time at a gardening center in Chesterton and picked fruit at an orchard in Hobart. At the orchard, she earned $12 an hour. She noted that she could buy donuts there for less than the cost of a dozen from a store. Fox-Kay said she started these side jobs after her NIPSCO bills began to rise. Regulators approved rate increases that the company expected to raise the average residential customer’s bill by roughly 28 percent over the last two years.
Fox-Kay sat at her kitchen table when she spoke with NBC 5 Responds reporter PJ Randhawa. She explained that while she makes a decent living, the high costs make it difficult to cover essentials. Her garden, which she tends using skills from her time at the gardening center, helps her save on food costs.
Nadia Jimenez, the executive director of the Friendship Center Food Pantry in Lincoln Square, said the demand for free services has tripled in the past year. The pantry provides resources for the whole family, including supplies for babies and pets. Jimenez expressed surprise at seeing professionals visit the pantry. Fox-Kay has visited the pantry several times in recent months while she was out of work to care for a family member. She has donated items to the pantry in the past and plans to do so again in the future.
The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana and The Greater Chicago Food Depository operate programs and locations throughout Chicagoland. Both organizations report high demand for their services.
