Inflation, shipping delays, supply-chain issues, pandemic lockdowns, and labor shortages have contributed to price increases and scarcities that have now started affecting food banks across the country, on which the most vulnerable population depends during difficult circumstances. “The recovery is going to be very, very long and steep for families who are typically reliant on food banks,” said Michael Altfest, director of community engagement at the Alameda County Community Food Bank in Oakland, California, to The Associated Press. Food banks have started catering to a new category of customers, according to Altfest—families who have never depended on such institutions but have been driven over the financial edge by the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on this year’s holiday season does not bode well for those already suffering from food insecurities. Turkey prices have seen a 70 percent hike over the past year. Tracy Engel, director of the River Valley Regional …