A locked door at the back of a welcoming house opens and a long line of people, spanning the yard, move forward, each person showing a small ticket as they enter.

This is the Home House of Erie, a food pantry that gives out food three mornings a week in a neighbourhood on the edge of Erie, Pennsylvania.

At the back of the queue, Megan pushes her 18 month-old daughter in a pram while trying to wrangle her three-year-old twins, who are still in their pyjamas. Her five other children are at school.

“I come almost every time they’re open,” says 31-year-old Megan, who is unemployed and single. “It’s a lot of good nutritious food in here.”

Inside the house, which is laid out like a supermarket, she will pick up fruit, vegetables, meat, bread and other staples.

While she receives food stamps and Medicaid health insurance, getting free food is a “godsend… it would be a bigger struggle if they weren’t here,” she says.

Her circumstances will resonate with many Americans hit by a cost of living crisis and stubborn inflation. But here in Erie, there is extra reason for both presidential candidates to take heed.

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