OAK PARK, Mich. (WXYZ) — Forgotten Harvest, a metro Detroit food rescue and food redistribution organization, says some of the non-profit's distribution sites have seen an increase in the number of people needing food during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chris Ivey, marketing and communications director, says there's been anywhere from 60 to 85 percent more people in the lines.
"There are new people coming into a food insecurity situation that have never been in that situation before because of furloughs, or job layoffs or salary cuts," Ivey said.
He says the organization, which has been aiding the community for 30 years, anticipates those lines won't shrink in the foreseeable future.
Ivey explained, "So what does that mean for Forgotten Harvest? It means we will continue to fundraise for, to feed the community community-at-large. This COVID-19, even when... the health crisis of it is over, the financial ramifications of this will go long-term."
Like other sectors, Ivey says the forecast is uncertain.
"That's the scary thing. We don't know what the long-term affects of this are gonna be," he said.
"Forgotten Harvest, we're setting up our budgets and our planning for next year and we just don't know. We're doing the best we can do with the information we have but this is just something that no one has ever had to deal with," Ivey explained.
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