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Already, factories and entire neighborhoods are empty. In 2005, US Census Bureau figures showed the city to be the poorest in America with one-third of its residents (and one-half of its children) below the official poverty line. Now it's much worse, and it's highlighted on August 13, 2009 by CNN Money.com's Steve Hargreaves article headlined, "Hunger hits Detroit's middle class."
He calls a lack of food in this recession-racked city a serious problem with not "a single major non-discount chain supermarket (there), forcing residents to buy food from corner stores or discount chains. Often (it's) less healthy, less varied, or more expensive food" for those able afford it or enough. Many can't and rely on food stamps and charity services.
The "food crunch is intensifying, and spreading to people not used to dealing with hunger. As middle class workers lose their jobs," people who used to donate to food banks now need them as recipients in growing numbers - "about a third more people than before," according to Jean Hagopian, a New Life food pantry volunteer in a suburb 20 miles northeast of the city.
Throughout metro Detroit, social service agencies report a huge increase in demand, far in excess of what they can provide and rising. It's no longer just for the homeless and poor. It's for households whose breadwinners lost auto and other good-paying jobs, also homes and savings, and are now desperate for help.
Detroit is a microcosm of Michigan, and its hard times are getting harder. So are California's, and conditions throughout the country. In its 2009 report "Hunger and Homelessness in US Cities," the US Conference of Mayors state:
"Hunger and homelessness (are) at record levels in US cities." They cite:
-- a 26% increase in demand for help over the past year;
-- more middle class families needing it;
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