More people are using GoFundMe to help with basic necessities

The affordability issue is also staring to loom larger in national politics. President Donald Trump regularly insists that consumer prices have come down since his return to the White House in January. This week, Trump gave the economy during his second term an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus” grade in an interview with Politico.

In GoFundMe’s “community causes” category, more fundraisers were launched this year to support food banks than any other cause, the company said in a news release accompanying the report.

Between the end of October and early November, GoFundMe saw a nearly sixfold increase in food-related fundraisers on the site. The timing coincided with a federal government shutdown that abruptly halted SNAP food assistance benefits and forced tens of thousands of federal employees to go without paychecks for several weeks.

“In a year marked by natural disasters and growing everyday needs, the power of help united communities like never before: with 2.5 donations made every second on average, people across the globe came to GoFundMe to lift up others, support nonprofits, and strengthen communities,” the company said in the release.

The “most generous” day of the year was Jan. 10, in the midst of the Los Angeles wildfires. GoFundMe users in all 50 states raised a combined $265 million for wildfire relief, according to the company’s statistics.

Ireland topped the list of the “most generous countries” for the seventh year in a row, followed by the U.S. and the United Kingdom.