At a Wilmington supermarket, Hispanic organization raises awareness about inflation

While standing outside Los Portales Supermarket in Wilmington, Jeffrey Baldwin was happy to know customers were spending $28.67 less at the cash register. 

As the grassroots engagement director for The LIBRE Initiative - North Carolina, Baldwin helped give away gift cards worth that amount before they went inside. It's the average cost of inflation for just two days, according to LIBRE. 

"Today, the community will get some relief from inflation," he said. "But tomorrow when they go back to the grocery store, they're going to see the high prices again. They're going to see how gas almost doubled and how they're paying more by getting less." 

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LIBRE, a grassroots organization, said it was formed to help empower the Hispanic community by advocating for freedom-oriented solutions at the state and federal level. LIBRE's visit to the store on Kerr Avenue was part of its "The True Cost of Washington" campaign to educate the public about inflation.

"We want people to start thinking, 'What can I do to help make my voice be heard so inflation can be tackled, so the prices can start going down again,'" Baldwin added. "That will only happen if we stopped printing money and allowed for the production of goods and services catch up to the money supply." 

Statistics provided by the organization says that the cost of inflation in North Carolina is higher than the national average, costing families 12.1% more. They also said state households are paying $566 more monthly and $6,789 annually.  

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According to LIBRE officials, politicians are saying issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine are among some of the reasons for higher costs. But members of the organization say government spending, borrowing and printing money is the reason. 

LIBRE officials also pointed out the rising cost of food items such as meat (up 13%), eggs (up 11.2%) and fresh vegetables (which increased about 6%). 

"We're feeling the pain of inflation with less money in our pockets," Baldwin said. "We're feeling the pain at the pump and we're also feeling the pain at the checkout counter." 

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LIBRE volunteers gave out 150 gift cards worth $28.67 — a total of about $4,300.

Jennifer Cedeno was one of those shoppers who browsed the grocery store aisles while looking for needs such as meats and cheese. She knows people personally impacted by inflation. 

"Everything is going up," Cedeno said with concern. "The gas, the food, it's all going up."  

Miguel Villasenor-Castro, owner of Los Portales Supermarket, agrees. Like many other business owners, he also has to deal with inflation and rising prices when it comes to filling up shelves. 

"The payrate for the people is the same," Villasenor-Castro said about customers. "You're spending more money every week, but you're not get any more money. That's kind of tough on customers." 

Reporter Chase Jordan can be reached at cjjordan@gannett.com.