San Jacinto Unified School District was able to distribute vouchers to 800 families at its school sites as well as Betty Gibbel Regional Learning Center, St. Hyacinth Academy, San Jacinto Valley Academy and 65 for the Valley Community Pantry. Hemet Unified was able to give 1,000 families the opportunity to enjoy this generous donation and included sites in outlying areas such as Anza and Idyllwild. About 200 meal boxes were provided to various nonprofits.

On Nov. 17, close to 100 volunteers spent the afternoon distributing food to voucher holders who drove through the San Jacinto Unified School District’s main parking lot, as well as directing traffic and checking in each vehicle. All food items were delivered on pallets by the district’s nutrition services personnel. Each food box was filled with a 20-plus pound frozen Butterball turkey, six-pound cans of corn and green beans, cranberry sauce, four pounds of frozen mashed potatoes, stuffing mix and a three-pound can of turkey gravy. A 12-count package of fresh dinner rolls and a frozen pumpkin pie rounded out the meal fixings.

SJUSD’s Family & Community Engagement Specialist Carla Adame trains and supports the family liaisons at most of the school sites. They are the ones responsible for identifying and selecting the neediest of families to receive one of the Thanksgiving dinner donations.

“We definitely saw an increase in requests this year. We try to be sensitive to the demographics in determining who gets served,” Adame said. “My favorite part of this event is looking inside the cars and seeing if there are kids that I can say hi too since that is who this is for.”

Each box carries an approximate value of $120 had the families purchased the items outright and Soboba Foundation Coordinator Andrew Vallejos said it was important to help out this year due to inflation affecting everyone. He said he was happy that Sysco was still able to provide a good price on everything and that the Soboba Foundation was able to come together and make this happen again this year.

“The Tribe is fortunate to be in a position to give back at a time when there is so much uncertainty in the economy,” Soboba Tribal Council Chairman Isaiah Vivanco said. “Even now when food prices are up, we are happy that we are able to provide Thanksgiving dinners so families can enjoy this special time together and not have to worry about the cost of the meal.”

Soboba Tribal Council Vice-Chairwoman Geneva Mojado stayed busy at the pallet of pumpkin pies, making sure each roll cart that made its way down the assembly line of food items got what was needed. After all items were placed into one large box marked with a Happy Thanksgiving sticker, other volunteers hoisted them into waiting vehicles.

“I enjoy seeing everyone come together for this event each year,” Mojado said. “We are grateful that we can help the community and students and their families are grateful, too. You can hear it in their voices when they thank us as they drive up.”

Soboba Tribal Council Secretary Monica Herrera said, “During this time of reflection as we prepare for the holiday, our Soboba family wants to provide other local families with a full meal to enjoy, despite these hard economic times.”

“It warms my heart to see all these families smiling and saying thank you as they receive their box of food,” Soboba Foundation President Dondi Silvas said.

SJUSD Superintendent David Pyle volunteered to help fill the food boxes that were loaded into trunks and back seats of vehicles that drove through the District Office parking lot in two lanes.

“An incredible tradition has continued for yet another year,” Pyle said. “The support our families receive throughout the year on behalf of Soboba is unmatched year-round and truly magnified during the holiday season. Providing over 800 Thanksgiving meals to many of our neediest families is yet another example of Soboba’s above and beyond service to the San Jacinto Unified School District. We are hopeful this tradition will continue for many years to come.”

The following day, Hemet Unified School District’s main office set up a distribution center so chosen families could drive through and receive their boxes, which were prepackaged by HUSD nutrition services employees. The Business Services department was highly involved in the entire process, including creating different signage and banners to remind families that Soboba was behind the turkey meals they were receiving.

Soboba Tribal Council Treasurer Daniel Valdez pitched in to help for a second day. “It’s great to be back again this year. I always love contributing when I can,” he said.

Catie Stanley, who is the marketing director for Soboba Casino Resort and a Hemet-San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce board member, recruited a dozen volunteers for the first day of distribution and at least 10 for the second day at HUSD. All sported turkey drumstick headbands and special Thanksgiving tee shirts.

“As a community member myself, I love this event,” Stanley said. “It is so much fun being able to see the people we are giving back to and we get to work together with our team members.”

Soboba Casino Assistant General Manager Jason Cozart was one of those that volunteered his time both days. Also a Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians Tribal member, he enjoys being able to help out each year.

“Our doing this brings a lot of relief to families who are struggling,” he said. “Anything we can do to help is a blessing. It also gives our team a chance to work together with the Foundation, it’s a team effort.”

As the Coordinator of School, Family & Community Partnerships, Miriam Ortiz said she feels everyone at HUSD who was involved with the event helped refine the processes so things were running smoother this year.

Emily Shaw, who is HUSD’s Director of Wellness and Community Outreach, said, “I think the support that Soboba provides to our community is immeasurable. We are so grateful for their partnership because without them, we wouldn’t be able to do this. They always go over and beyond.”

Soboba Foundation Treasurer Julie Arrietta-Parcero said she likes the fact that they are always able to help someone else out. Foundation Secretary Antonia Briones-Venegas worked alongside Julie to keep the line of cars moving as items were placed in the vehicles, two at a time on each side of the canopy-covered pallets of food items.

“I like knowing that there will be kids that won’t go without because we are able to give them this food,” Antonia said. “To me, family gatherings for whatever reason mean a lot. I’m glad we do this.”

Another benefit to SJUSD recipients was the inclusion of a care bag that included hand sanitizer, COVID-19 test kits and other items for a safe gathering. Those items tied into a door hanger that was put in each box, reminding parents and guardians that “Attendance Matters” and the importance of keeping children home if they are sick but verifying all absences for possible follow-up by the District Nurse or school health office staff. HUSD also offered at-home COVID-19 test kits to each family as they checked in upon arrival.

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Cindy Uken | Contributed

For Hunger Action Month® this September, FIND Food Bank will join Feeding America and 200 network food banks to inspire people to take action and raise awareness of locals in the Coachella Valley and Hi-Desert facing food insecurity.

Record high prices at the gas pump and grocery stores are dragging on longer than expected, pushing more working people into food bank lines. FIND is engaging with the public through fundraising and awareness events to leave no local hungry.

“Hunger Action Month is a time when our community comes together to learn and raise awareness of hunger because while we’re making strides in our United States to meet people’s needs, we still have many people who are experiencing food insecurity,” FIND CEO Debbie Espinosa said. “Our service numbers are not back to pre-pandemic levels, and a lot of that has to do with the increasing cost of food and gas. Though we have many employed people, their salaries have not increased at the same rate as the necessities in life. That’s why we count on our community to volunteer, donate, and advocate for their neighbors facing food insecurity this month and year-round.”

FIND Food Bank serves more than 150,000 people on average each month who are struggling to make ends meet while inflation shrinks their household budgets. FIND’s efforts are also challenged by the increases in sourcing and transportation costs, fewer corporate food donations, and the end of pandemic federal nutrition programs.

During September, businesses, city governments, and individuals across the Coachella Valley and Hi-Desert can participate by donating, volunteering, learning, and speaking up about ways to fight hunger.

Go Orange

Nine Coachella Valley cities, Twentynine Palms, and the McCallum Theater and Desert Care Network, including the El Mirador tower at the Desert Regional Medical Center, are lighting up orange throughout September. Orange is the color of hunger awareness because it stands out when hunger is too often a hidden issue. When you see a city hall or monument lit orange, take a moment to speak out about hunger online, sign up for a volunteer event, or donate to support your neighbors facing food insecurity.

Dine, Shop, and Donate for Hunger Relief

Restaurants, hotels, retail stores, and entertainment venues across the Coachella Valley and Hi-Desert are offering special food and beverage items, events, fundraisers, retail specials, and virtual food drives, with a portion of proceeds going to support FIND Food Bank’s hunger relief efforts.

Sponsor is Pioneertown Motel, Pioneertown, Hi-Desert.

Partnering Businesses are:

Ace Hotel & Swim Club, Palm Springs

Birba, Palm Springs

Cork & Fork, Heirloom Craft Kitchen, and Tu Madres Cantina, Indio, and La Quinta

Desert Beer Company, Palm Desert

Desert Wine Shop on 111, Palm Desert

Eight4Nine, Palm Springs

Grill-A-Burger, Palm Desert

Hotel Paseo, Palm Desert

Kimpton Rowan Hotel, Palm Springs

La Fe Wine Bar, Palm Desert

Perfect Pint, Palm Desert

PS Underground, Palm Springs

Starbucks, 37 participating locations in the Coachella Valley region

Hunger Action Month is a time to mobilize to end hunger. You can choose to donate or advocate. You can choose to volunteer or raise awareness. You can choose to help end hunger.

About FIND Food Bank

Founded in 1983, FIND Food Bank is the Desert’s Regional Food Bank serving over 5,000 square miles, including eastern Riverside and southern San Bernardino Counties, from the Hi-Desert and Joshua Tree across the Coachella Valley to Anza, down to the Salton Sea and the border of CA and AZ. FIND is the largest hunger-relief and food rescue organization in the region. They are the Feeding America food bank for the Coachella Valley desert region, recognized as the USDA distributor for eastern Riverside County and the County of Riverside, and the State of CA as the regional Disaster Response food bank. FIND’s mission is to end hunger today, tomorrow, and for a lifetime. To end hunger for Today, FIND currently feeds an average of 150,000 individuals, families, children, seniors, and veterans each month. Their 150 distribution sites include over 80 community agency partnerships (soup kitchens, religious organizations, and local nonprofits) and 44 Community Mobile Markets that serve food deserts and low-income areas. FIND’s two distribution centers in the Coachella Valley and Hi-Desert help ensure equitable food distribution for all. To end hunger for Tomorrow, FIND offers outreach services to connect people who are food insecure with benefits programs that improve financial security. FIND works to end hunger for a Lifetime by identifying the root causes of hunger to break cycles of food insecurity and achieve self-sufficiency.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Since she came to California from Mexico 24 years ago, Maria Bernal has been supporting her family by often working two jobs at fast food restaurants.

But she says she wound up living in a small Kia with her two youngest children, then ages 3 and 15, for six months after she lost her housing in 2019 when one of her employers began paying her minimum wage for eight hours even when she worked a 16-hour double shift.

Union organizers and other advocates say such wage theft and other exploitation is common in the fast food industry, particularly for women and racial minorities who make up many of California’s more than half-million fast food workers. The industry denies such abuses are widespread.

Bernal and more than 100 others who recently rallied outside the state Capitol are pinning their hopes on groundbreaking legislation that would give fast food workers increased power and protections.

The proposal awaiting final action before the California Legislature adjourns Wednesday would create a new Fast Food Council made up of four workers’ delegates alongside four employers’ representatives and two state officials that would set minimum standards for wages, hours and working conditions in California.

Bernal said she hopes the council would give workers like herself “a seat at the table where they will respect us more and not allow wage theft to happen, and also importantly that we won’t be afraid of retaliation.”

Restaurant owners and franchisers say the proposal would drive up the price of fast food. They cite an analysis they commissioned by the UC Riverside Center for Economic Forecast and Development that puts the price increase at 7% to 20%.

A late wage cap added to the bill would keep the increase on the low end of that range. Late amendments limit any minimum wage bump to $22 an hour next year, with cost of living increases thereafter, while the statewide minimum will be $15.50 an hour.

Other late amendments mean the council would also have to be approved by a petition signed by 10,000 fast food workers, and the council would now disappear after six years unless it is renewed.

Matthew Haller, president & CEO of the International Franchise Association, dismissed the last-minute revisions as “an attempt to put lipstick on a pig.”

An earlier version cleared the Assembly in January with no votes to spare after falling short last year, and the revised bill is awaiting consideration in the Senate.

Though California’s effort would be broader, a wage board created by New York’s governor in 2015 led to an increase in fast food wages there, and similar efforts have been tried by some cities. The left-leaning Center for American Progress says that what also are known as workers’ boards, worker standards boards or industry committees could combat economic inequality along with racial and gender pay gaps.

“If we are successful here, workers in Florida, Texas, New York, even Idaho will be heartened and they can replicate our successes,” Democratic Assemblyman Alex Lee said at the workers’ rally.

California’s measure would cover fast food restaurants with at least 100 establishments nationally.

It grew out of the decade-long Fight for $15 and a Union minimum wage movement and efforts by labor unions to organize fast food workers in California and nationwide.

“This is more than just a labor fight. This is a fight about racial justice, this is a fight about gender justice,” said Joseph Bryant, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union behind the drive. “Eighty percent of the workers are people of color who work in fast food. Two-thirds of the workers are women who work in fast food, and these workers are being exploited.”

Fast food workers in California are paid nearly $3 an hour less than comparable workers in other service sector jobs, according to a joint study released this month by Harvard and UC San Francisco.

Bernal hopes the California law and the ongoing effort to unionize fast food establishments will one day lead to benefits like paid vacations, medical coverage and a retirement plan. She filed a wage claim earlier this year with state regulators seeking $160,000 in back wages and penalties, while her son is alleging child labor law violations and threats by a restaurant manager.

Employees “are still fighting for some of the basic things that should have been happening a long time ago for the fast food workers who serve our community every day, even through a pandemic,” said Democratic Assemblyman Chris Holden, the bill’s author.

But Jesse Lara, whose family-owned business operates 34 El Pollo Loco franchises in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, said the bill is unnecessary and would harm the company’s more than 1,000 employees.

It unfairly assumes “that we have to rip off our employees to make a profit,” when many of the firms’ managers have promoted from within, he said. Inflation is “killing us,” he said, and higher wages and benefits would force restaurant owners to raise prices and cut workers’ hours to make ends meet.

The pending bill targets bona fide abuses, but also furthers unions’ goals of collective bargaining with the entire industry instead of attempting to organize fast food chains one restaurant at a time, said Janice Fine, a professor of labor studies and employment relations who directs Rutgers University’s workplace justice lab.

Such sector-wide negotiations are common in Europe, she said, but rare in the U.S.

California already has some of the strongest worker protection laws and regulations in the U.S. if not the world, said Matt Sutton, the California Restaurant Association’s senior vice president for government affairs and public policy.

He disputed claims that the fast food sector has a higher rate of labor, unemployment, health and safety incidents, but said the answer regardless should be for lawmakers to put more money into enforcing labor standards instead of creating a new council with unique regulatory power over one industry.

“There are avenues to punish employers when it’s appropriate,” Sutton said.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Department of Finance also opposed the bill in June, citing its potential costs and what it said could be “a fragmented regulatory and legal environment.”

“It is not clear that this bill will accomplish its goal, as it attempts to address delayed enforcement by creating stricter standards for certain sectors, which could exacerbate existing delays,” the administration warned.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The pace of sales at U.S. retailers was unchanged last month as persistently high inflation and rising interest rates forced many Americans to spend more cautiously.

Retail purchases were flat after having risen 0.8% in June, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Economists had expected a slight increase.

Still, Wednesday’s report contained some positive signs: Excluding autos and auto parts, retail sales rose 0.4% in July.

Lower gas prices likely freed up money for people to spend elsewhere. Gasoline sales slid 1.8%, reflecting the drop in pump prices.

“As gas prices fell, consumers had more money in their pockets for other items such as furniture and electronics,″ said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial.

Sales of building supplies and garden equipment held up, as did sales at electronics and appliance stores.

At the same time, consumers remained wary of spending much on non-essentials: Sales were down 0.5% at department stores and 0.6% at clothing stores.

Compared with 12 months ago, overall retail sales rose 10.3% in July.

America’s consumers, whose spending accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic activity, have remained mostly resilient even with year-over-year inflation near a four-decade high, rising economic uncertainties and the surging costs of mortgages and borrowing money. Still, overall spending has weakened, and it has shifted increasingly toward things like groceries, and away less necessary things like electronics, furniture and new clothes.

The government’s monthly report on retail sales covers about a third of all consumer purchases and doesn’t include spending on most services, ranging from plane fares and apartment rents to movie tickets and doctor visits. In recent months, Americans have been shifting their purchases away from physical goods and more toward travel, hotel stays and plane trips.

Inflation continues to pose a severe hardship for many families. Though gasoline prices have fallen from their heights, food, rent, used cars and other necessities have become far more expensive, beyond whatever wage increases most workers have notched.

Despite a still-robust job market, the U.S. economy shrank in the first half of 2022, raising fears of a potential recession. Growth has been weakening largely as a consequence of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes, which are intended to cool the economy and tame high inflation.

The impact of the Fed’s hikes has been felt especially in the housing market. Sales of previously occupied homes have slowed for five straight months as higher loan rates and high sales prices have kept many would-be buyers on the sidelines.

But the most important pillar of the economy — the job market — has proved durable. America’s employers added a hefty 528,000 jobs in July, and the unemployment rate reached 3.5%, matching a near-half-century low reached just before the pandemic erupted in the spring of 2020.

Americans are still spending, but that money is going to different places as the pandemic eases. Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, posted better than expected quarterly sales and profits, but noted that customers are favoring lower-priced grocery items.

And it’s gaining more customers who might more typically shop at Whole Foods. The company, long associated with price-conscious and lower-income consumers, disclosed that roughly 75% of its grocery sales last quarter were to households with incomes of at least $100,000.

It also noted that lower income customers were trading down within the store, for example swapping out sliced deli meats for hot dogs to save money.

On Wednesday, Target reported that its profit plunged nearly 90% despite solid sales, largely because it was forced to slash prices to clear huge inventories of things in heavy demand during the pandemic like furniture, appliances and electronics.

Signet Jewelers, which operates stores under such names as Zales and Jared, lowered its full-year sales forecast last week as Americans cool spending on luxuries and more on groceries.

“They’re being intentional,” said Jamie Singleton, president of Signet. She said customers may be taking home fewer items, but they’re spending more on the things they buy.

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An analysis of television advertising found that there were more ads for health-adverse products and fewer with health-beneficial messages on Spanish-language broadcasts than on English-language broadcasts.

Researchers from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Texas A&M University published their findings in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The study compared three-week composite samples of 1,593 clips from Telemundo (Spanish) and NBC (English) stations in Houston, randomly drawn during prime time over several weeks in 2021. Researchers analyzed health-related ads in categories, including mental health, tobacco prevention, alcohol/beer, food/beverage, and pharmaceutical.

Telemundo was much more likely to air alcohol and unhealthy food/beverage advertisements and less likely to have healthy food/beverage advertisements than the NBC station. Specifically, Telemundo broadcasted about 11 more alcohol and 5 more unhealthy food/beverage advertisements per hour of TV advertisement programming than NBC. Telemundo broadcasted zero advertisements on mental health/tobacco prevention compared with 11 on NBC.

“Latino populations exposed to Spanish-language TV are saturated by harmful advertising content and denied beneficial health-promoting information, potentially contributing to health disparities,” says the study’s first author, Melissa DuPont-Reyes, assistant professor of sociomedical sciences and epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School. “Corporations contribute to an overall poor culture of health for racial and ethnic minority communities. Public health policies that regulate corporate marketing are needed to help ensure health equity in the future.”

One possible explanation for excessive alcohol and unhealthy food advertising on Telemundo was a greater share of sports programming, which is known to be linked with these kinds of ads.

Soccer games dominated prime-time Telemundo and persisted until the end of the game even through game overtime, overriding regular scheduled programming.  In contrast, when NBC broadcasted sports, mainly American football, NBC would move the game’s overtime broadcast to their sports network NBCSports.

“While the causes and prevention of obesity and alcohol misuse among Latino populations are complex, our findings are consistent with previous knowledge about the deleterious corporate marketing techniques on health outcomes for racial/ethnic minority communities,” DuPont-Reyes concludes.

Study co-authors include Jose J. Hernandez-Munoz and Lu Tang of Texas A&M.

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It’s the inflation you’re not supposed to see.

From toilet paper to yogurt and coffee to corn chips, manufacturers are quietly shrinking package sizes without lowering prices. It’s dubbed “shrinkflation,” and it’s accelerating worldwide.

In the U.S., a small box of Kleenex now has 60 tissues; a few months ago, it had 65. Chobani Flips yogurts have shrunk from 5.3 ounces to 4.5 ounces. In the U.K., Nestle slimmed down its Nescafe Azera Americano coffee tins from 100 grams to 90 grams. In India, a bar of Vim dish soap has shrunk from 155 grams to 135 grams.

Shrinkflation isn’t new. But it proliferates in times of high inflation as companies grapple with rising costs for ingredients, packaging, labor and transportation. Global consumer price inflation was up an estimated 7% in May, a pace that will likely continue through September, according to S&P Global.

“It comes in waves. We happen to be in a tidal wave at the moment because of inflation,” said Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate and former assistant attorney general in Massachusetts who has documented shrinkflation on his Consumer World website for decades.

Dworsky began noticing smaller boxes in the cereal aisle last fall, and shrinkflation has ballooned from there. He can cite dozens of examples, from Cottonelle Ultra Clean Care toilet paper, which has shrunk from 340 sheets per roll to 312, to Folgers coffee, which downsized its 51-ounce container to 43.5 ounces but still says it will make up to 400 cups. (Folgers says it’s using a new technology that results in lighter-weight beans.)

Dworsky said shrinkflation appeals to manufacturers because they know customers will notice price increases but won’t keep track of net weights or small details, like the number of sheets on a roll of toilet paper. Companies can also employ tricks to draw attention away from downsizing, like marking smaller packages with bright new labels that draw shoppers’ eyes.

That’s what Fritos did. Bags of Fritos Scoops marked “Party Size” used to be 18 ounces; some are still on sale at a grocery chain in Texas. But almost every other big chain is now advertising “Party Size” Fritos Scoops that are 15.5 ounces — and more expensive.

PepsiCo didn’t respond when asked about Fritos. But it did acknowledge the shrinking of Gatorade bottles. The company recently began phasing out 32-ounce bottles in favor of 28-ounce ones, which are tapered in the middle to make it easier to hold them. The changeover has been in the works for years and isn’t related to the current economic climate, PepsiCo said. But it didn’t respond when asked why the 28-ounce version is more expensive.

Likewise, Kimberly-Clark — which makes both Cottonelle and Kleenex — didn’t respond to requests for comment on the reduced package sizes. Procter & Gamble Co. didn’t respond when asked about Pantene Pro-V Curl Perfection conditioner, which downsized from 12 fluid ounces to 10.4 fluid ounces but still costs $3.99.

Earth’s Best Organic Sunny Day Snack Bars went from eight bars per box to seven, but the price listed at multiple stores remains $3.69. Hain Celestial Group, the brand’s owner, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

Some companies are straightforward about the changes. In Japan, snack maker Calbee Inc. announced 10% weight reductions — and 10% price increases — for many of its products in May, including veggie chips and crispy edamame. The company blamed a sharp rise in the cost of raw materials.

Domino’s Pizza announced in January it was shrinking the size of its 10-piece chicken wings to eight pieces for the same $7.99 carryout price. Domino’s cited the rising cost of chicken.

In India, “down-switching” — another term for shrinkflation — is mostly done in rural areas, where people are poorer and more price sensitive, said Byas Anand, head of corporate communications for Dabur India, a consumer care and food business. In cities, companies simply jack up prices.

“My company has been doing it openly for ages,” Anand said.

Some customers who have noticed the downsizing are sharing examples on social media. Others say shrinkflation is causing them to change their shopping habits.

Alex Aspacher does a lot of the grocery shopping and meal planning for his family of four in Haskins, Ohio. He noticed when the one-pound package of sliced Swiss cheese he used to buy shrank to 12 ounces but kept its $9.99 price tag. Now, he hunts for deals or buys a block of cheese and slices it himself.

Aspacher said he knew prices would rise when he started reading about higher wages for grocery workers. But the speed of the change — and the shrinking packages — have surprised him.

“I was prepared for it to a degree, but there hasn’t been a limit to it so far,” Aspacher said. “I hope we find that ceiling pretty soon.”

Sometimes the trend can reverse. As inflation eases, competition might force manufacturers to lower their prices or reintroduce larger packages. But Dworsky says once a product has gotten smaller, it often stays that way.

“Upsizing is kind of rare,” he said.

Hitendra Chaturvedi, a professor of supply chain management at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, said he has no doubt many companies are struggling with labor shortages and higher raw material costs.

But in some cases, companies’ profits — or sales minus the cost of doing business — are also increasing exponentially, and Chaturvedi finds that troubling.

He points to Mondelez International, which took some heat this spring for shrinking the size of its Cadbury Dairy Milk bar in the U.K. without lowering the price. The company’s operating income climbed 21% in 2021, but fell 15% in the first quarter as cost pressures grew. By comparison, PepsiCo’s operating profit climbed 11% in 2021 and 128% in the first quarter.

“I’m not saying they’re profiteering, but it smells like it,” Chaturvedi said. “Are we using supply constraints as a weapon to make more money?”

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This list is based on prior customer reviews.

5. Chef’s Kitchen To-Go

Have you ever tried soft Korean fried wings? If you have, then be happy because it is quite rare for a person who lives in Moreno City to try this great delight. Saucy Korean fried chicken is now common in the USA, but this restaurant has unique soft fried wings.

4. KK’S Oh Taste and See

Finding soul food in California is not a big deal. Right? But to find the real and authentic flavor from an American-African is quite a tough task. But you don’t have to do this tough task as we have done it on your behalf and got your favorite soul food and southern fried chicken. So what else do you want?

3. Byrd’s Hot Chicken

This is one of the famous places not only in this city but in California when it comes to hot and spicy chicken recipes. And fried chicken is on top of them.

2. Krispy Krunchy Chicken

Are you a lover of crispy and crunchy Cajun fried chicken? If so, why are you finding more restaurants when you have a Krispy Krunchy Chicken restaurant in your city near you? Stop waiting anymore and give a treat to yourself.

1. Hotties Chicken

This is one of the most famous in California and the best place in this city for fried chicken, especially when it comes to Nashville’s hot fried chicken. You can see the lovers of Nashville hot chicken in almost every street. But not everyone knows how to cook it. But the one who knows is like a celebrity.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to speed production of infant formula and authorized flights to import supply from overseas, as he faces mounting political pressure over a domestic shortage caused by the safety-related closure of the country’s largest formula manufacturing plant.

The Defense Production Act order requires suppliers of formula manufacturers to fulfill orders from those companies before other customers, in an effort to eliminate production bottlenecks. Biden is also authorizing the Defense Department to use commercial aircraft to fly formula supplies that meet federal standards from overseas to the U.S., in what the White House is calling “Operation Fly Formula.”

Supplies of baby formula across the country have been severely curtailed in recent weeks after a February recall by Abbott Nutrition exacerbated ongoing supply chain disruptions among formula makers, leaving fewer options on store shelves and increasingly anxious parents struggling to find nutrition for their children.

“I know parents across the country are worried about finding enough formula to feed their babies,” Biden said in a video statement released by the White House. ”As a parent and as a grandparent, I know just how stressful that is.”

The announcement comes two days after the Food and Drug Administration said it was streamlining its review process to make it easier for foreign manufacturers to begin shipping more formula into the U.S.

In a letter Wednesday to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, Biden directed the agencies to work with the Pentagon to identify overseas supply of formula that meets U.S. standards over the next week, so that chartered Defense Department flights can swiftly fly it to the U.S.

“Imports of baby formula will serve as a bridge to this ramped-up production,” Biden wrote.

Regulators said Monday that they’d reached a deal to allow Abbott Nutrition to restart its Sturgis, Michigan, plant, the nation’s largest formula plant, which has been closed since February due to contamination issues. The company must overhaul its safety protocols and procedures before resuming production.

After getting the FDA’s OK, Abbott said it will take eight to ten weeks before new products begin arriving in stores. The company didn’t set a timeline to restart manufacturing.

“I’ve directed my team to do everything possible to ensure there’s enough safe baby formula and that it is quickly reaching families that need it the most,” Biden said in the statement, calling it “one of my top priorities.”

The White House actions come as the Democratic-led House is expected to approve two bills Wednesday addressing the baby formula shortage as lawmakers look to show progress on what has become a frightening development for many families.

One bill expected to have wide bipartisan support would give the secretary of the Department of Agriculture the ability to issue a narrow set of waivers in the event of a supply disruption. The goal is to give participants in an assistance program commonly known as WIC the ability to use vouchers to purchase formula from any producer rather than be limited to one brand that may be unavailable. The WIC program accounts for about half of infant formula sales in the U.S.

The other measure, a $28 million emergency spending bill to boost resources at the Food and Drug Administration, is expected to have less bipartisan support and it’s unclear whether the Senate will take it up.

“This is throwing more FDA staff at a problem that needs more production, not more FDA staff,” said Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said the money would increase FDA staffing to boost inspections of domestic and international suppliers, prevent fraudulent products from getting onto store shelves and acquire better data on the marketplace.

Abbott’s voluntary recall was triggered by four illnesses reported in babies who had consumed powdered formula from its plant. All four infants were hospitalized with a rare type of bacterial infection and two died.

After a six-week inspection, FDA investigators published a list of problems in March, including lax safety and sanitary standards and a history of bacterial contamination in several parts of the plant. Under Monday’s agreement, Abbott must regularly consult with an outside safety expert to restart and maintain production.

Chicago-based Abbott has emphasized that its products have not been directly linked to the bacterial infections in children. Samples of the bacteria found at its plant did not match the strains collected from two babies by federal investigators.

But FDA officials pushed back on that reasoning Monday on a call with reporters — their first time publicly addressing the company’s argument. FDA staffers noted they were unable to collect bacterial strains from two of the four patients, limiting their chances of finding a match.

“Right from the get-go we were limited in our ability to determine with a causal link whether the product was linked to these four cases because we only had sequences on two,” FDA’s food director Susan Mayne said.

Fixing the violations uncovered at Abbott’s plant will take time, according to former FDA officials. Companies need to exhaustively clean the facility and equipment, retrain staff, repeatedly test and document there is no contamination.

As part of the FDA’s new import policy, regulators said companies would need to provide documentation of their factory’s inspections.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Under fire from parents and politicians, President Joe Biden’s administration announced steps Monday to ease a nationwide shortage of baby formula, including reopening the largest domestic manufacturing plant and increasing imports from overseas.

The Food and Drug Administration said it was streamlining its review process to make it easier for foreign manufacturers to begin shipping more formula into the U.S.

“The FDA expects that the measures and steps it’s taking with infant formula manufacturers and others will mean more and more supply is on the way or on store shelves moving forward,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf told reporters.

Califf said the U.S. will prioritize companies that can provide the largest shipments and quickly show documentation that their formulas are safe and compatible with U.S. nutrition standards. The policy is structured as a temporary measure lasting six months.

The imports announcement came shortly after regulators said they’d reached a deal to allow Abbott Nutrition to restart its Sturgis, Michigan-based plant, which has been closed since February due to contamination issues. The company must overhaul its safety protocols and procedures before resuming production.

Neither step will have an immediate effect on tight supplies that have left many parents searching for formula online or in food banks.

After getting the FDA’s OK, Abbott said it will take eight to ten weeks before new products begin arriving in stores. The company didn’t set a timeline to restart manufacturing.

Getting imports into the U.S. supply chain will also take several weeks, according to administration officials. Products from Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. are expected to meet the standards needed for importation.

But regulators said national industry data shows most U.S. stores, on average, still have 80% of their formula inventory in stock. They suggested some of the empty shelves seen in recent days may be due to panic buying by parents.

Monday’s announcement was previewed last week by the White House, which has been leaning on the FDA and formula makers to quickly find ways to alleviate the shortage. Outrage over the issue has quickly snowballed and handed Republicans a fresh talking point to use against President Biden ahead of November elections.

The shortage stems from a February recall by Abbott that exacerbated ongoing supply chain disruptions among formula makers, leaving fewer options on stores shelves across much of the country. The shortage has led retailers like CVS and Walgreens to limit how many containers customers can purchase per visit.

Abbott’s voluntary recall was triggered by four illnesses reported in babies who had consumed powdered formula from its plant. All four infants were hospitalized with a rare type of bacterial infection and two died.

After a six-week inspection, FDA investigators published a list of problems in March, including lax safety and sanitary standards and a history of bacterial contamination in several parts of the plant. Under Monday’s agreement, Abbott must regularly consult with an outside safety expert to restart and maintain production.

Chicago-based Abbott has emphasized that its products have not been directly linked to the bacterial infections in children. Samples of the bacteria found at its plant did not match the strains collected from two babies by federal investigators.

But FDA officials pushed back on that reasoning Monday on a call with reporters— their first time publicly addressing the company’s argument. FDA staffers noted they were unable to collect bacterial strains from two of the four patients, limiting their chances of finding a match

“Right from the get-go we were limited in our ability to determine with a causal link whether the product was linked to these four cases because we only had sequences on two,” FDA’s food director Susan Mayne said.

Fixing the violations uncovered at Abbott’s plant takes time, according to former FDA officials. Companies need to exhaustively clean the facility and equipment, retrain staff, repeatedly test and document there is no contamination.

As part of the FDA’s new import policy, regulators said companies would need to provide documentation of their factory’s inspections.

Pediatricians say baby formulas produced in Canada and Europe are roughly equivalent to those in the U.S. But traditionally, 98% of the infant formula supply in the U.S. is made domestically. Companies seeking to enter the U.S. face several major hurdles, including rigorous research and manufacturing standards imposed by the FDA.

San Diego father Steven Hyde has faced heart-wrenching challenges finding formula for his medical fragile daughter, who was on an Abbott formula but has had to switch with the recall and subsequent shortages in other brands.

Zoie Hyde was born 19 months ago with no kidneys, a rare life-threatening condition that requires dialysis and a feeding tube until she weighs enough for a kidney transplant.

Hyde said he used an organic brand from overseas until costs and customs hurdles made that too difficult. Friends and strangers from out of state have sent him other brands, but each time she switches requires more blood tests and monitoring, Davis said.

Despite her challenges, Zoie is walking, talking and “doing pretty good” on other developmental milestones, Davis said.

“She’s a shining light in my life,” he said.

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Kendall Nunamaker and her family of five in Kennewick, Washington, faced impossible math this month: How to pay for gas, groceries and the mortgage with inflation driving up prices?

Like many other working families, the Nunamakers are grappling with the 8.3% inflation in the consumer price index in April announced Wednesday — slowing slightly from the March figure which was the largest year-over-year increase since 1981, according to the Labor Department. The national average gas price reached a record high Wednesday of $4.40 a gallon. And global food prices are climbing after shortages caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine and other supply chain problems.

Food banks across America say those economic conditions are intensifying demand for their support at a time when their labor and distribution costs are climbing and donations are slowing. The problem has grown to the point where last week President Joe Biden called for a Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in September, the first since 1969.

For many families like the Nunamakers, food insecurity became a painful surprise.

“There’s no reason us as a couple and a family should be struggling so hard,” Nunamaker said. “We make decent money.”

She works three days a week at a home décor store for $15.25 an hour; her husband, Nick, works a full-time union job as a paratransit driver at $27 an hour. Though they receive some money from a state nutrition program for young children that their two youngest qualify for, they still spent $360 on groceries last week.

Because of inflated prices, those groceries didn’t go far enough to feed everyone. And the family still lacked money to pay other household bills, leaving Nunamaker wondering how she would stretch their next paychecks to cover those bills and their mortgage this month.

In the past, to bridge the gap, the family sold off possessions like VR headsets and firearms.

“At some point,” Nunamaker said, “we’re not going to have anything because we would have sold everything.”

So Nunamaker and her husband visited two local food banks for the first time last week.

The pandemic forced roughly 60 million Americans to seek help for food insecurity, according to Feeding America. At the end of 2021, as hiring boomed, demand for food banks returned to regular levels. But the relief was short-lived.

“In the last few months, with this increase in inflationary pressures, we’re seeing 95% of our 200 member food banks saying that they have seen either leveling or an increase in need,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America.

In the area along the Columbia River where Nunamaker lives, the number of clients seeking food aid at a church pantry jumped 40% between December and March, according to Eric Williams, director of community partnerships at Second Harvest, an organization that works to supply local pantries with food.

He said his organization must make more happen with less because its suppliers are subject to the same cost increases. The price that Second Harvest pays for obtaining donated produce has risen from about 6 cents a pound a year ago to about 10 or 11 cents a pound now, Williams said.

Some of Feeding America’s food pantry partners have closed because of dwindling donations and higher costs for receiving and delivering food. Others have less food on their shelves even though they have higher demand.

“Our network emphasizes access and equity,” Babineaux-Fontenot said. “So we are working extra hard to reach people who have the deepest food insecurity rates. Well, how far out can we go when gas prices are high? We have data that shows that race and place are significant indicators of whether or not you will be food insecure and how deeply you will be food insecure.”

Because of inflation and a reduction in aid, a food bank that serves three counties in Ohio — also called Second Harvest — is facing a drop in the amount of food it’s able to provide.

“Compared to last year at this time, we’re about 50% down in what we have received in the past in federal food donations and then about 20% down from food drives in our collection of food at the grocery stores,” Executive Director Tyra Jackson said. “All of that combined is truly having an impact on our budget because we’re needing to purchase more food outright.”

The struggles of families are heightened by the fact that government benefits that were increased during the pandemic like food stamps or unemployment insurance have stopped or will end shortly.

“Our work is always important,” Babineaux-Fontenot said. “It’s increasingly important when we have all of these headwinds.”

Williams, of Spokane, extended gratitude to the donors and volunteers that keep his organization running, some of whom worked more than 100 shifts last year. He said it can be difficult to witness first hand the scale of the food insecurity in his community when helping with distributions at a mobile food bank.

“You see the need and you just go, ‘Oh God, oh my God,’ ” Williams said. “But then as you hand somebody a box of food and they drive off: ‘Yeah, we were able to help,’ which is heart-wrenching on one hand and heartwarming on the other.”

Because it upsets her so much, Nunamaker said, she hasn’t discussed her family’s struggles with her three children, age 2, 4 and 7, or her network of friends and relatives. She said the food banks helped her family last week.

“People should know that just because you have to go to a food bank or you have to seek assistance, that doesn’t make you any less of a parent or a person,” she said. “Because everybody needs help sometimes.”

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