Friday, April 04, 2008

Dwindling donations, rising costs hurt food banks - mlive.com

Dwindling donations, rising costs hurt food banks - mlive.com: "We are turning away approximately 10 to 15 families per day,' the Rev. Chico Daniels, president of Mel Trotter, said at a Thursday press conference at the Grand Rapids Police Department. The ministry launched an impromptu food drive to restock shelves for food donations.

'It's scaring me,' said Linda Quist, associate director of Senior Meals. 'What do you do? Do you keep cutting? Then, are you even fulfilling your mission?'

Her fears are understandable.

A steady loss in manufacturing jobs in recent years has put one in eight Michigan residents on food stamps, double the caseload in 2000 and a record high. In Kent County, it jumped from 25,770 recipients in 2000 to nearly 70,000 in February."

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