Ann Arbor’s community radio station is teaming up with Food Gatherers in its yearly fundraising crusade and there is still time to donate. Staff from Washtenaw County’s premier food justice and nutrition equity non-profit and 107-one are at tables in front of the Maple Road Kroger to advertise their “Rockin’ for the Hungry” drive, taking donations and distributing information on how to give online until December 7 with a goal of raising funds for a million meals.
“Rockin’ for the Hungry is such a critical event for Food Gatherers and for the Washtenaw County community. It provides us an opportunity to shine a light on a critical issue that far too many people face every day, and it also gives us resources to fight hunger here in our neighborhoods,” Food Gatherers President and CEO Eileen Spring said in a press release.
Food insecurity due to high prices has remained just about the stickiest part of inflation ever since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the economy. Inflation may have cooled to 2.6% from the 2022 high of 9.1% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a federal agency that tracks economic indicators, but America’s savings are down and economic stress is proving to have legs as savings dwindle and grocery store sticker shock remains.
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One in eight people across Washtenaw County are food insecure according to Food Gatherers – meaning that they face difficulty in regularly affording enough food for themselves or their families.
The radio station has been involved with helping Food Gatherers raise funds every Christmas season since they came on the air in their current form in 2004, according to Mark Copeland, 107-One’s program director. A previous incarnation of the station was also involved.
“A lot of working people need help with food security because they have to decide between rent, heat, a car payment, car insurance … technology,” Copeland told Current in between being on air and working the information booths.
It is hardly breaking news that Washtenaw County is one of the more expensive places to live in Michigan – the median household income is $83,754 according to the United States Census’ 2023 American Survey estimate, $14,571 more than the $69,183 state average and slightly more than the $80,610 national average income. But 15.3% of Washtenaw residents are living under the poverty line. That is barely 2% less than the 15.4% poverty rate peaks of 2013 and 2015 that Washtenaw County residents suffered following the Great Recession.
We are also getting less equal like the rest of the country. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found in its most recent data that income inequality across Washtenaw County, meaning “the ratio of the mean income for the highest quintile (top 20%) of earners divided by the mean income of the lowest quintile (bottom 20%) of earners” went from 16.196% in 2010 to 19.08646% in 2022. That means that the gap between the richest 20% and poorest 20% is steadily ballooning, so more and more people and households than ever are likely to unexpectedly find themselves needing food assistance that they never expected to.
“We know there’s people who five or six years ago may have been donating to Rockin’ for the Hungry that may be using the food pantry now,” Copeland added. “Things can change very quickly.”
You can donate to Food Gatherers all year. But if you donate between now and Saturday, your donation will be matched by sponsors. This year’s sponsors include the Harold and Kay Peplau Family fund, Kroger and Power Hour Sponsors.
“Food Gatherers can provide two meals with every donated dollar,” Food Gatherer’s press release said. “That means with the match, a financial gift of $5 can provide 20 meals to food-insecure children, adults, and seniors in our county.”
Donations can be made in one of four ways. You can donate food to their table at the 400 West Maple store on the west side of town. They will be there from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Or you can donate financially by phone at 734.761.2796, or you can mail a check to Food Gatherers, 1 Carrot Way, Ann Arbor Michigan 48105 with “’Rockn’ for the Hungry’ in the memo line” according to the press release, or you can donate online at give.foodgatherers.org/campaigns/35389-rockin-for-the-hungry-2024.
Spring added, “We’ve not seen any indication that this hunger surge will slow anytime soon. This is an opportunity for everyone to come together to help our neighbors who need it most. We are committed to ending hunger in Washtenaw County, but we cannot do it alone.
Drew Saunders is a freelance business and environmental journalist who grew up just outside of Ann Arbor. He covers local business developments, embraces his foodie side with reviews restaurants, obsesses over Michigan's environmental state, loves movies, and feels spoiled by the music he gets to review for Ann Arbor!
