Help Feed a Hungry Michigan Neighbor, November, December Food Drives - AARP Bulletin

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Two AARP food drives coming in November and December

Kenyetta Lewis has three children. Her oldest is in college, and tuition is expensive. Prescription drugs take about $300 a month out of the family budget, and gas costs add up for her husband, whose daily commute is about 50 miles. Making ends meet got even tougher in April when Lewis left her full-time job for health reasons. She has applied for disability benefits, but the loss of her paycheck makes it difficult for her family to cover all the bills, much less pay for food for five people. "I never thought I'd be standing in line trying to get food for my family," Lewis said, while doing just that. Lewis was at the Francis Street Food Pantry in Jackson, which was opened by the in June 2008. The pantry distributed food to about 35 households then. Now, it serves roughly 175 households a week, according to Mark Smith, who helped start the pantry. Tough times mean more Michigan residents are relying on food pantries for assistance. To help meet the growing need, AARP Michigan plans to work with two food banks to help stock them for the holiday season. "Since the economic downturn … food pantries have seen a huge uptick in people coming to them for food," said Karen Kafantaris, AARP Michigan associate director for livable communities and community service. "In some areas, the numbers have doubled and even tripled." From Nov. 8 to 18, AARP will work with and , a food bank in Oak Park which distributes more than 12 million pounds of food annually. AARP Michigan and will cosponsor a food drive in the Kalamazoo area from Dec. 11 to 17. Donations will be collected at Harding's grocery store at 412 Howard St. on Dec. 11 and there will be four drop sites around the city during drive week. For more information, call Kafantaris at AARP Michigan, 517-267-8916 or at 1-866-227-7448 toll-free. The economy has cast a shadow over the entire country, but Michigan has been among the hardest-hit states. , a domestic hunger-relief charity, has — including Forgotten Harvest — that distributed more than 100 million pounds of food in 2009. That is more than 10,000 pounds of food every hour of every day. A found that nearly one in four people who receive assistance from food banks in Michigan is 50 or over. "You have a lot of people who are living only on Social Security. Or, if it's been 20 years since they retired and they're living on a small pension — a pension doesn't go as far as it did 20 years ago," Kafantaris said. "They're having a hard time just getting their basics." To learn how to help with the AARP food drives, go online to the website or . Anyone interested in organizing a food drive can visit Create the Good to download a how-to toolkit. If you or someone you know is in need of food assistance, there is an and a link to the , which lists food banks in the state as well as links to other emergency food resources. At first, Lewis was hesitant to share her story, but she hopes discussing the challenges her family faces will help raise awareness. "People need to know that there are so many people that need it, because so many people are losing jobs," Lewis said. Kafantaris said the demographic of the needy is changing and that hunger is becoming more of an issue for the middle class. Lewis' view of who needs assistance has certainly changed. "You had your stereotypes of who comes," she said. "The times are changing. That's not what it is. There are people just like me standing in these lines." Chris Iott is a reporter for Booth Newspapers and MLive.com living in Jackson, Mich. Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

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