约 50 辆汽车在亚利桑那州凤凰城的一个大型停车场里车头挨着车尾排成长龙，一阵停一阵行地缓缓前移。即使已是 10 月底，这个以大峡谷和仙人掌闻名的西南部州份依然酷热难耐。在队伍最前端，圣玛丽食品银行的志愿者们一次给八辆车的后备箱装满面包、意面和罐头蔬菜。接着，下一批车辆驶上前来。这里无需付费——一切免费。
About 50 cars waited bumper to bumper in a large parking lot in Phoenix, Arizona, slowly moving forward in fits and starts. Even at the end of October, it was still very hot in this southwestern state, famous for the Grand Canyon and its cacti. At the front of the line, volunteers from the St. Mary's food bank filled the trunks of eight vehicles at a time with bread, pasta and canned vegetables. Then, it was time for the next batch. There was nothing to pay here – everything was free.
圣玛丽食品银行在亚利桑那州多地设有分发点，其驾车领取模式从未迎来过如此多的人。该组织发言人杰里·布朗解释说：“自新冠疫情结束以来，我们的领取人数每年增长 10% 到 15%。2026 年，一些分发点的增幅将超过 20%。”“食品价格通胀对许多家庭造成毁灭性打击，他们靠工资已无法同时支付账单和养家糊口。我们看到的退休人员也越来越多。”全美范围内，食品价格今年上涨了 2.5%。过去五年累计涨幅达到 26%。部分产品（如牛肉）的涨幅甚至更高。
Never before had so many people visited the St. Mary's drive-through, a charity that operates at multiple locations across Arizona. "Since coming out of Covid-19, our attendance has been increasing by 10% to 15% per year. In 2026, some locations will see an increase of over 20%," explained Jerry Brown, the organization's spokesperson. "Food price inflation has been devastating for many families, who can no longer pay their bills and feed themselves on their wages. We're also seeing more and more retirees." Across the US, food prices rose by 2.5% this year. Over the past five years, the cumulative increase reached 26%. For some products, like beef, the rise was even higher.
65岁的退休卡车司机史蒂夫·巴纳姆是第一次来到圣玛丽食品银行求助。尽管他拥有自己的房子，但每月1800美元的养老金已不再足以维持生计。“以前，我一周在沃尔玛买五袋食品杂货只需60美元。现在要150美元，”他说。
Steve Barnum, 65, a retired truck driver, was turning to St. Mary's for the first time. Even though he owns his home, his $1,800 monthly pension is no longer enough to get by. "Before, my five grocery bags for the week at Walmart would cost me $60. Today, it's $150," he said.
53岁的珠宝制作工珍妮弗·胡安也来领取一箱食物，供她、女儿和孙女食用，孙女坐在后座的儿童安全座椅上。“现在感觉我们天天吃豆子、米饭和炸面饼。我们无法像过去那样享受美食，只吃牛排、肉或汉堡包，因为所有东西都变得太贵了，”她叹了口气说。
Jennifer Juan, 53, a jewelry maker, also came to pick up a box of food for herself, her daughter and her granddaughter, who sat in a car seat in the back. "It's like we're eating beans and rice all the time now, and frybread. We can't have the pleasures like we used to, and just eat steak or meat or hamburger, cause everything's getting so expensive," she said with a sigh.
在11月3日即将到来的中期选举中，她计划因经济形势投票给民主党：“我对特朗普非常、非常失望。我为上次大选投了他的票而感到羞耻。”
In the upcoming midterm elections on November 3, she planned to vote for the Democrats because of the economic situation: "I'm very, very disappointed in Trump. I'm ashamed I voted for him in the last election."