A family of four with two kids in Florida has to budget over $1,500 a month, on average, to afford food.
That bill is even higher for families across the Tampa Bay region, according to the latest ALICE report released this week. The annual study calculates how much it takes for working people to afford basic needs.
In most cases, food is the largest expense for households behind only rent.
A recent survey of Floridians found that 39% of families used 'Buy Now, Pay Later' apps, like Klarna or Afterpay, to split the cost of food into installments. The nonprofit No Kid Hungry surveyed over 1,000 Florida adults who answered a multiple-choice poll via text.
"I'm alarmed by these results, but I'm not surprised," Sky Beard, the Florida director of No Kid Hungry, said in a statement.
The poll also found 82% of families said food prices are rising faster than their incomes, forcing households to make decisions between food and other needs, like gas, transportation and childcare.
The draw of "predatory" short-term, high-interest installment loans is that they allow people to meet their immediate needs, said Matthew Calabresky, senior manager of financial security at United Way Suncoast.
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"Buy Now, Pay Later plans sound good as a one-time thing, but they stack up over time, and what this does is it creates a cycle of debt ... and it's going to impact their long-term financial security," Calabresky said.
The survey's findings, which were published in May, found that 60% of respondents said they are making trade-offs between buying enough nutritious food and paying for essentials like rent and saving for retirement.
Calabresky said those realities are often even harsher for communities of color across the greater Tampa Bay region, who are recovering differently in the post-COVID economic era.
"There's certain populations that are being left behind in the recovery process," Calabresky said. "Black and Hispanic families were more likely to [use] payday lending [and] were more likely to have to sacrifice food to make other purchases in their budget, and so this is something that it's disproportionately impacting them."
While many families are being forced to prioritize short-term needs, Calabresky recommends people consider emergency bridge loans, opening lines of credit with a financial institution or finding support with community-based nonprofits.
Gabriella Paul covers the stories of people living paycheck to paycheck in the greater Tampa Bay region for WUSF. Here’s how you can share your story with her.
