Rising temperatures, utility bills take heavy toll on seniors in the Lower 9th Ward

The doors aren’t open, but the line already wraps around the building at the Lowernine Levee Food Pantry in New Orleans. They come early, even on a Saturday, to avoid the worst of the August heat. It’s just before 9 a.m., and it’s already 85 degrees and rising.

Huddled in the shade of the building, Charles Johnson waits for canned goods and fresh produce. The 65-year-old said the heat feels familiar.

“This heat feels like after a hurricane passed,” Johnson said. “But it was never like that before. After a hurricane pass, man, you’ve got tremendous heat. And that’s how it feels sometimes.”…

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