A volunteer fills up a vehicle with food boxes at the St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix. The food banks are struggling to meet the growing need even as federal programs provide less food to distribute, grocery store donations wane and cash gifts don’t go nearly as far. AP photo

With surging inflation unlikely to end anytime soon, legislation has been introduced in the state Senate to increase cash assistance grants for utilities, food and other necessities.

S.9513 was introduced recently by state Sen. Roxanne Persaud, D-Brooklyn, as companion legislation to a bill introduced earlier in the year by Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-New York City. The bills could be discussed when the state legislative session begins in January. The bill doesn’t include an estimate of additional costs to increase benefits.

“Individuals receiving temporary assistance are provided monthly benefits to cover the cost of shelter, utilities, food and other necessities,” Rosenthal and Persaud wrote in their legislative justification. “Many families across the state rely on these benefits each month for payment of home heating bills or to purchase groceries, medications, clothing and other necessities. However, as utility costs and prices of goods have increased over the years, the grant amounts have not. The basic grant, intended to cover food and other necessities, was last raised in 2012. The utility grants have not been increased since the1980s.”

Increased amounts for assistance would take effect July 1, 2022. Rosenthal and Persaud propose an increase in basic assistance from $158 for a single person to $246 or $617 for a family of six to $964. Rosenthal and Persaud also propose a cost of living adjustment determined by the federal Social Security Administration every year. Home energy assistance would increase from $14.10 for one person to $44, with the grant for a family of six increasing from $44.20 to $172. Supplemental home energy grants would increase from $11 for one person to $28 and from $42 to $107 for a family of six.

According to the Associated Press, inflation surged in June and workers’ average wages accelerated in the spring — signs that Americans won’t likely feel any relief from rising prices anytime soon. Much of the increase in inflation was driven by energy and food.

On a month-to-month basis, too, prices surged 1% in June, the biggest such rise since 2005. Even excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices climbed 0.6% from May to June, according to the AP. Employees’ wages, excluding government workers, jumped 1.6% in the April-June quarter, matching a record high reached last fall. Higher wages tend to fuel inflation if companies pass their higher labor costs on to their customers.

Some signs indicate that certain categories of inflation may moderate in the coming months, though not by very much: Gas prices have fallen since mid-June from an average national peak of $5 to $4.26, according to AAA. Likewise, other commodity prices, for items such as wheat and copper, have plunged.

Many retail and consumer goods chains, though, say inflation is squeezing shoppers and limiting how far their money goes — a sign that consumer spending could further weaken. Inflation has been rising so fast that despite the pay raises many workers have received, most consumers are falling behind the rising cost-of-living.

“New Yorkers receiving temporary assistance rely on these grants to help cover every day costs of living, but because the grant amounts have not kept pace with inflation, it is increasingly difficult for families who rely on them to escape poverty,” Persaud and Rosenthal wrote in their legislative justification. “This legislation would adjust the basic grant and the utility grant amounts to account for inflation since the amounts were originally set in 1989 and 1981, respectively. By adjusting these amounts for inflation, individuals and families will be brought in line with the federal poverty level and be able to afford their everyday expenses ,helping them to escape poverty and achieve self-sufficiency.”