MILLWOOD, NY (WCBS 880) - The cost of living is going up and they’re feeling the strain at the Food Bank for Westchester.

WCBS 880′s Catherine Cioffi reports

The food bank’s Jill Wilcox says they’re still busy buying wholesale food and sending it out to various food pantries, but she says the price hikes are painful.

“The beef market is skyrocketing. Our rice, the price has almost doubled in the last year and everything has increased at least 10 percent. That’s the minimum,” says Wilcox.

Wilcox says they’re doing their best to fulfill their obligations to needy families, but she says it’s getting hard.

“We haven’t hit the breaking point yet but at this rate it is going to have an impact all the way down the line,” Wilcox said. “We’re buckling our seat belts for a rough ride ahead.”

The Food Bank for Westchester solicits, acquires, warehouses, and distributes food to more than 200 frontline hunger-relief programs throughout the county that include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and residential programs. They provide over 95 percent of all food they distribute, helping to feed some or all of the 200,000 Westchester children, seniors, and their families who are hungry or at risk of hunger. They deliver 10 to 12 tons of food a day.

You can contact the Food Bank for Westchester at 914-923-1100.