ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Now, 74,000 meals are at the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank after their annual Shop to Stop Hunger competition Tuesday.

Five contestants had one minute to shop for as much as they could in Kroger.

Everything they got plus the money they've been raising all month went directly to the food bank.

The CEO of BRAFB, Michael McKee, said they're feeding up to 140,000 people a month, which is the highest they saw in the pandemic.

"The cost of living, it's so high, the cost of food is, is very high. Of course, inflation is coming down a little bit, but it's still 17, 18, 20% higher for a lot of families than before the pandemic and their wages haven't really grown that much," he said.

He said the community support at the event shows how important BRAFB services are.