HOUSTON \u2013 It\u2019s no secret that groceries are getting more expensive as hurricane season, which begins June 1, approaches. <\/p>\n
So how do you prepare, especially if you\u2019re already living paycheck to paycheck?<\/p>\n
The price of groceries are going up! (Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, grocery prices in Houston rose 1.7% over the 12 months ending February 2026. <\/p>\n
Rice University\u2019s Kinder Institute for Urban Research reports that only 34% of Harris County residents are financially secure, meaning they could cover three months or more of living expenses using savings if they lost their paycheck.<\/p>\n
Financial Pressure after the storm (Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n
After Hurricane Beryl hit Houston, lower-income residents recovered more slowly. Among families earning less than $25,000 a year, nearly one in three were still struggling just weeks after the storm; after a year, three in ten had not fully bounced back, compared with higher-income households. But even higher-income households are feeling the squeeze: the number of households reporting difficulty getting by doubled between 2025 and 2026, including some earning more than $150,000.<\/p>\n
With all this in mind, here are realistic steps for Houston residents living paycheck to paycheck to prepare hurricane kits focused on the basics, items you can gradually buy now:<\/p>\n
Water<\/a> (one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation)Food<\/a> (at least several days\u2019 supply of non-perishable items)<\/p>\n Battery-powered or hand-crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert<\/p>\n Flashlight<\/p>\n First-aid kit<\/p>\n Extra batteries<\/p>\n Whistle (to signal for help)<\/p>\n Dust mask (to help filter contaminated air)<\/p>\n Plastic sheeting and duct tape (to shelter in place)<\/p>\n Moist towelettes, garbage bags, and plastic ties (for personal sanitation)<\/p>\n Manual can opener<\/p>\n Local maps<\/p>\n Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery<\/p>\n Experts recommend stocking up slowly so you don\u2019t break the bank but are prepared for whatever comes our way this hurricane season.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 It\u2019s no secret that groceries are getting more expensive as hurricane season, which begins June 1,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298601,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57,4684,108611,223,172],"class_list":["post-298600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-hurricane-season","tag-hurricane-season-2026","tag-news","tag-weather"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}