Hunger in Metro Detroit grows, but so does help

Food aid requests have more than doubled in a year
Santiago Esparza / The Detroit News
[http://www.detnews.com/article/20091211/METRO/912110392/Hunger-in-Metro-Detroit-grows--but-so-does-help]

Every month, more than 7,000 requests for food come into the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. And increasingly, they're coming from the suburbs.

Requests for food to its 211 telephone help line have more than doubled from 3,000 a month last year, putting a new face on hunger and further straining an already frayed network of relief agencies.

In a state that leads the nation in unemployment, job losses have many turning to charity to save money for mortgages or utilities, said Paula Thornton Greear, spokeswoman for Feeding America, an umbrella organization composed of nonprofit agencies.

They're folks like Linda Mills, 63, of Westland, who was among the hundreds in line Thursday at Open Door Ministry in Canton Township waiting for a week's worth of groceries distributed by a small army of walkie-talkie toting volunteers.

"This helps make ends meet," said Mills. "My husband is only working part time. I am having difficulty finding work. If not for this, it would be horrible."

Linda Woermer, 63, was among the first in a long queue of cars waiting for food. The retiree who uses a walker has mastered the network of food pantries in Metro Detroit, knowing by heart which ones are open and when.

"It makes all the difference," said Woermer of Westland. "Without it, my life would be pretty difficult."

The situation is expected to get worse once buyouts or other compensation run dry for laid-off workers, advocates predict.

Greear estimated that 4 million of Michigan's 10 million residents dealt with hunger last year. Nationwide, 49 million Americans, including 17 million children, don't know where their next meal will come from, according to federal estimates.

JP Morgan Chase Foundation officials are donating 34 trucks to 20 food banks across the nation, including Gleaners Community Food Bank in Detroit and Forgotten Harvest in Oak Park.

Officials made the announcement Thursday at Forgotten Harvest to underscore the region's need. Unemployment in Metro Detroit is 16.7 percent, above the national average of 10.2 percent. In Detroit, it's closer to 30 percent.

Unemployment in Metro Detroit is 16.7 percent, above the national average of 10.2 percent. In Detroit, it's closer to 30 percent.

"That is a critical, critical tool," said Kimberly Banks, president of the foundation. "We want to be where the people are. Without trucks, it would be difficult to do that."

At Forgotten Harvest, volunteers this year expect to distribute 18 million meals, up from 12.5 million last year. Gleaners expects to give 36 million meals, up from 22 million.

Every Thursday at Open Door Ministry in Canton Township, the parking lot fills with dozens of cars before distribution begins at 4:30 p.m. Hundreds make the trip during the three-hour distribution to receive 30 pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables, boxed and canned goods and meat.

Even registering for relief is a process that can take weeks, participants said. The nonprofit vets applicants based on need and family size.

"We joke that we are like McDonald's," said Steve Daar, 61, of Ypsilanti Township, who organizes the efforts with his wife. "There are a lot of needy families out there. We want to help them. We are blessed with a lot of really nice food."

He spoke outside a giant walk-in freezer inside a warehouse packed with boxes of food. Like a lieutenant commanding troops, Daar coordinated distribution Thursday as 50 volunteers guided drivers into three lines, where they were brought brown bags of food.

A few years ago, the needy would simply walk up and take what they were given. But the economy changed, prompting Daar to develop a mini-bureaucracy to feeding the equivalent of a small village in a few hours. This year, the nonprofit has distributed 1 million pounds of food, helping about 350-500 households a week.

"So many people need help, but we have been blessed to be able to offer them food," said Daar, a retired Ford engineer.

Open Door Ministry isn't the only charity rethinking distribution as demand soars.

Forgotten Harvest has spent the past nine years updating methods of collecting and distributing food. It now relies almost exclusively on grocers and growers for the food it gives away, spokesman John Owens said.

That means that trucks are sent at midnight to collect perishable food from restaurants that would otherwise be thrown away. On a recent visit to the Oak Park facility, Owens showed large boxes of potatoes and carrots bought for less than a dime because Forgotten Harvest would pick up the items.

"There is nothing wrong with the food. There was just too much produced," Owens said while showing plump tomatoes from Canada and large potatoes from Idaho. "We have to keep expanding to keep up with demand. The hunger situation has grown because of the economy."

sesparza@detnews.com (313) 222-2127