Forgotten Harvest Holds Rally To Combat Hunger
OAK PARK (WWJ) - The hunger problem in Metro Detroit continues to grow and Forgotten Harvest -- the biggest food rescue organization in the nation -- is holding a rally to combat the crisis.
Forgotten Harvest's Spokesman Russ Russell said the organization is making great strides in helping to feed Metro Detroit families, but he said it will take the community to make sure everyone is fed.
"While we have doubled the amount of food that we have provided from 12 million to nearly 24 million pounds of food, which equates to about 24 million meals annually, our partners who are serving on the front line run out of food every single day. They do not have enough on their shelves to take care of the new influx of families and individuals that are going hungry."
Russell said they have about five million pounds of food to give away in October, but need volunteers desperately to hand it out.
"It's unfortunate. While we've doubled our ability to get more food out there, it is simply not enough. And so, that's why we're having this rally to say that it's not enough and that we need all people, whether you're a food donor, whether you're an individual out there that can do something, to volunteer."
Russell said the issue is often an invisible problem and you may never know who is struggling.
"Most people don't see it. It's kind of that invisible problem. You don't know the person next to you or the person living next door to you, what's going on behind their home, how much food they have available for their children and whether they're even going to a food bank or a food pantry or just suffering for the first time."
Forgotten Harvest along with members of the faith-based community, including the Salvation Army and Focus: Hope, will be on hand to help out at the rally, which begins at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Northland Shopping Center in Oak Park, north of 8 Mile on Greenfield across from the Forgotten Harvest Offices.
For more information, visit www.forgottenharvest.org.
