The vicious double whammy of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and stubbornly high inflationary pressures is continuing to make life tough for millions of Americans.

Early on in the nearly two-year-long health crisis, Washington was indeed aware of the struggles many hardworking Americans were facing—and eventually green-lighted three much-needed stimulus checks for the majority of the U.S. population.

Ten months have passed since the third stimulus check was issued through President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, and many Americans’ financial situations have still not improved much. This is why calls for another round or two of stimulus checks have not died down one bit.

Rising Food Costs

One of the chief driving forces behind the push is the unsavory fact that grocery costs just keep on increasing. According to data from IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm, prices of meat, seafood, produce, cereal, and other kitchen staples surged 9 percent in 2021 alone. This concerning trend will likely continue to head in the wrong direction over the next year.

“A lot of that [price action] is actually a delayed reaction from the [volatility) that the supply chain has been feeling for the last several months,” Doug Baker, vice president of industry relations for FMI, The Food Industry Association, told CNN Business. “They put off as long as possible, and now we’re going to feel the effects of that for the next few months,” he continued.

Tony Sarsam, CEO of food distributor SpartanNash added that “the extraordinary cost pressure that we’re seeing across all different businesses right now is landing in that last resort, and that’s why you're seeing the inflation.”

Stimulus Check Petitions

It is against this troubling backdrop in which millions of pandemic-weary Americans have taken action via petitions to demand another round of government-issued stimulus checks to help them make ends meet. Currently, there are no less than seven petitions doing just that and they have collectively garnered more than five million signatures.

The most popular petition to date was launched by pandemic-hit Denver-area restaurant owner Stephanie Bonin, who is calling on Washington lawmakers to support families with a $2,000 payment for adults and a $1,000 payment for children until the health crisis ends.

“Laid-off workers, furloughed workers, the self-employed, and workers dealing with reduced hours will struggle to pay their rent or put food on the table,” the petition reads. “Our country is still deeply struggling.”

Another popular petition is being orchestrated by the Senior Citizens League, which has been aggressively urging Congress to quickly approve another round of stimulus checks to only recipients of  Social Security benefits.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Washington state-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Image: Reuters.