MohamadDamen

SOC2000
Dr.Brown
12/15/16
HonorsServicingLearning:Gleaners,Poverty,andRace
Asanimpoverishedcity,Detroithashadagreatchallengetoproperly
spreadfoodoutletsaroundthecity,sothatcitizenshaveeaseofaccessto
healthyfoods.Inourgovernment,wehaveaseriousproblemfrom1975to
2010therichest20percenthavegrownricherandhepoorest20percenthave
grownpoorer(Henslin251).Incomehasabigimpactonconvenienceto
sustainablefoods.Onadaytodaybasis,afamilyseekstoobtainnecessities
suchasfoodandwater.Inasurvey,participantsselectedshoppinglocations
tolimitthenumberofreturntripsanddistancetraveled(Zachary,DrewA.,
etal.).SinceDetroitisafooddesertandlacksmanyhealthyfoodoutlets,
manyfamiliesonlyhavetheoptiontogotothecloseststore,whichisone
thatusuallysellsnutrientdeficientfoods.Inaddition,evenifhealthierfoods
wereavailableforsale,theywouldtendtobequitepricey(Zachary,Drew
A.,etal.).Theaveragefamilywouldappeartofinditeconomicallysmartto
makethemostoftheirmoneynomatterthequalityofthefood.Eventhough
fruitsandvegetablesarehealthy,theyseemtoposeamonetaryburden.In
result,kidsinimpoverishedfamiliesmaytendtosettletochoosingpoorlyby

purchasingcheaperenergydensefoodovermorecostlyhealthyfoods
(Cawley).
Providingfoodsecuritytothecitizensincludeswidedispersaloffresh
foodsinthecity.TheGleanersCommunityFoodBankiscentralinactingas
apassagebetweenhealthyfoodsandthoseinneedofit.Theyrecognizethe
factthatlocalandnationalproducershavesurplusfoodthatmayotherwise
gotowasteforlackofawaytosafelyandefficientlybringittomarket
(GleanersCommunityFoodBank).Livinginpovertyfostersaproblemfor
individualsbecausetheymaynotbeabletoaffordacartotraveldistancesto
buyfreshfoodstoaccessoreventopickupfreshfoodsfromthefoodbank.
GleanersCommunityFoodBankhasunitedwithover535ofagenciesto
dispersefoodstonourishseveralcommunitiesandacclimatethosewhocant
findtransportation("AnnualReportsandFinancials").Theaccomplishment
ofthefoodbankistheircapabilitytotransportsustainablefoodstoother
foodoutletssuchaspantries,soupkitchens,andshelterstoaccommodate
thosewhocantravelthedistances.
Hungerisquiteaprevalentissueinourcommunityaffectingthoseof
allages.Especiallyduetothefactofbeingunderresourced,Detroitisita
lowpointandisntabletoassistthefamiliesinawaywhichwouldallow
themtobesociallymobile.ItisimperativeforDetroittogatherfundingtobe
abletoresumeitsdaytodayoperationswhenitcantraisethemontheir

own.Asamatterofface,TheStateofMichiganhascutaidtoDetroitby
over$172millionfrom1998to2013(CityBudgetInformation).Inaddition
tofinancialcuts,thecityhasoverthesametimeframeborrowedwhatthey
werentabletopayback.Whenitcametimetostartreimbursingthedebt
andwerenotableto,itfurtherworsenedtheeconomicturmoilthatDetroitis
presentlyfacing.Also,Therehasbeenapoliticalproblemwithpoororno
policiesestablishedtohelphealthyfoodsbecomemoreaccessibletothe
citizens.Subsequently,thepooreducationsysteminDetroithasnthelpedthe
situation.Itforcedthechildreninimprovisedfamiliesintoalifestylewhere
theyflunkanddropout.Thisisalsoduetothefactthatthereisalackof
resources.Ifthosechildrenarentabletoobtainsecurejobs,theywillnotbe
abletogetoutthispositivefeedbackloopofpoverty.Ultimatelytheir
educationwontpreparethemfortherealworld.Forthefewpeoplewhoget
outofthesystem,theydon'tcommonlycomebacktotheareastheywere
fromtohelp.Detroithasbeengivenmanyshorttermsolutionsinsteadof
longtermsolutions.Givingpeoplefoodcanonlyhelpthemforafewdaysor
week,butgivingthemresourcestobeabletoadvanceandexcelwillhelp
themestablishabrightfuture.
TheGleanersFoodBankhasamassedanenormoussupportfortheir
goalsandhasincorporatedthecommunitythroughvolunteeropportunities
helpingaidtheirsuccess.In2015alone,78,850mealsweredistributed
everydaytotalingto28,780,223mealsfortheyear("AnnualReports").

Furthermore,theFoodBankhasintroducedaSNAPoutreachprogramto
teachfamiliesonhowtoreceiveSNAPbenefits,whichisafederalfoodaid
programthatprovidesassistancetofoodinsecureindividuals("Programs.").
Inaddition,theirCookingMattersprogramhasreachedoutto6,268people
in2015teachingthemhowtopreparehealthyfoodsandtheskillofcreating
affordablemeals("2015Highlights.").Inaddition,TheGleanersFoodBank
hasaprogramcalledDoubleUpFoodBucks,whichworkswiththefederal
government;inessenceitprovideslowincomefamiliestheopportunityto
purchasetwiceasmuchfreshfood.Finally,thecomplexofpartneragencies
formedisnotonlycontinuingtogrow,buthasformedapartnershipthat
encouragesandattractspeopletothecausetohelptolessenfood
accessibilityproblems(GrahamandHand).Thepowerofpeopleunitingfor
acertaincausesendsastrongmessagenotonlylocally,butalsoonanational
magnitudesuchasGleanersFoodBanksthathasreachednational
acknowledgment.Inunion,theprogramsaidtohelpthrougheducation,
volunteersupport,andassetshelpagainstfoodinsecurityinthecityof
Detroit.
Iwasabletoexperience,firsthand,howtheorganizationoperates
andbeapartofthedifferenceinhelpingtoaidmakingiteasierforthose
unfortunatetohaveaccesstohealthyfoods.Asavolunteer,Irealizedthatin
theprocessthousandsofothersandIwhohavehelpedarecrucialforthe
foodbanktooperate.Volunteerhelpfromdoingtaskssuchaspackagingand

inspectinghealthyfoods,pullingorders,anddonating.Thefoodbankserves
5countiesincludingWayne,Oakland,Macomb,LivingstonandMonroe.The
foodbanksattemptstodistributetheproduceonaneedsbasis.Detroitisthe
needsthemosthelp,andithelpsthattheheadquartersisinthecity.Thereare
trucksthatfrequentlythatcollectthefoodanddriveouttodeliverthroughout
theweektodifferentfoodhubstoreachawidearrayofpeople.Withthe
greatengagementfromthecommunityandbackingofthegovernment
throughdifferentgrantsandcutsbacktheyareabletofocussolelyon
reachingthoseinneed.Itsnotaboutracethatdecides,itsonaneedbased
system.Lookingatatrend,itseemsasthoughitisamajorityofAfrican
Americanswhoarereceivingthehelpingbecausetheyarecomingfrom
situationsthatleavethematadisadvantageanddontmakeiteasyforthem
torecoverfromasmentioned.
InaCitysuchasDetroitthathadoncehadapopulationof2million
peopleandisnowonlyhometo700,000,thesurroundingareaisproblematic
totraverse(Hamby).Withsuchadropinpopulation,ithasleftmanypatches
inthecitybeingthatmanyareasarecrimeinfestedandabandoned.With
rampantcrimeratesitpushespeopleoutofthecity.Withroadsand
automobilesespeciallyinthemotorcityitmadeiteasytoleavethecity.The
peoplethatwereleftbehindwerepoorpeoplewhocouldntaffordtoleave.
Theatmospherethatiscreatedlosesqualityfromeducation,cityappearance,
streets,andsizeofpoliceforce.Inaddition,thecolorbarriergoingback

decadesagowithracialturmoilandwhitesvs.blacks.Theissueisreal,and
prevalent;reminiscestillremainstothisday.Indeedthereisstillracial
tensionamongstWhitesandAfricanAmericansandhowtheyarenttoo
acceptingofoneanother.Allofthesefactorscausingdivisionscomeinto
playtoleadtothedownfallofDetroit.Thespreadoutnatureofthecityand
howdisperseditis,doesalsoposeissues(Hamby).InDetroit,
transportationandresidencyaresignificantcontributingfactors.Itisessential
foronetobemindfulthatfooddesertselsewheredontmirrorDetroit.There
isacomplexlyimperfectsystemofsocioeconomicinequalityand
disorganizedfooddispersalthatcreatesfooddesertsspreadacrosstheworld.
ItisinaccuratetoapplythepopulartrendsseeninthenationtoDetroit,and
viceversa,afteralltheresultsoffoodinaccessibilityisparticulartoeach
individualregion.

Works Cited
"2015Highlights."GleanersHarvestWinter/Spring2016.N.p.,n.d.Web.13
Dec.2016.
"AnnualReportsandFinancials."GleanersCommunityFoodBank.N.p.,n.d.
Web.16Dec.2016.
<http://www.gcfb.org/annual_reports_and_financials>.
Cawley,John."TheEconomicsOfChildhoodObesity."ChildObesity:The
WayForward29.3(2010):36471.HealthAffaris.Web.14Dec.
2016.
"CityBudgetInformation|ViewCityofDetroitReports|HowDoI|CItyof
Detroit|Www.detroitmi.gov."CityBudgetInformation|ViewCityof
DetroitReports|HowDoI|CityofDetroit|Www.detroitmi.gov.
N.p.,n.d.Web.13Dec.2016.
FeedingAmerica.FeedingAmerica.n.p.n.d.Web.12Dec.2016
Graham,Bob,andChrisHand.America,theOwner'sManual:Making

GovernmentWorkForYou.1sted.N.p.:CQ,2009.Print.
Hamby,Myles.Personalinterview.3February2016.
Henslin,JamesM.Sociology:ADowntoearthApproach.Boston:Pearson,
2012.Print.
"Programs."SnapOutreach.N.p.,n.d.Web.13Dec.2016
"Vision."GleanersCommunityFoodBank.N.p.,n.d.Web.15Dec.2016.
<http://www.gcfb.org/vision>.
Zachary,DrewA.,etal."AFrameworkforUnderstandingGrocery
PurchasinginaLowIncomeUrbanEnvironment."Qualitativehealth
research23.5(2013):ProQuest.Web.14Dec.2016.