DETROIT – The cost of inflation remains a burden on many families across Metro Detroit. Many seniors and families continue relying on assistance from food pantries and other organizations, just to help make ends meet.
The help isn’t just coming from large organizations. There are many neighbors behind grassroots efforts who are looking out for folks in their own communities.
“How many boxes did you need? Are you picking up for someone else as well,” Minnie Davis asked a visitor inside the Mathis Community Center on Greenfield on Friday.
Davis is among a group of neighbors who are working to make sure neighbors on Detroit’s west side have access to resources they may need from week to week.
“Every Friday we give out food boxes,” Davis said.
Every Friday, Davis and volunteers with the nonprofit Young Men in Motion make the Mathis Community Center their hub for distributing boxes of food and other resources.
“We’re just here to do what we do. Serve others,” Davis explained.
Ms. Minnie, as folks call her, is the Executive Director of Young Men in Motion and Program Director for Mathis Community Center. She said they are committed to serving others as demands for assistance continues increasing across the community. The group said it’s seeing seniors debating whether to buy food or medicine, families with newborns struggling to make ends meet, and other vulnerable residents who could use a boost.
“And then domestic violence is running rampant in the community. They have so many different things, you know,” Davis explained.
The group partners with Forgotten Harvest to provide the food boxes. The nonprofit also provides donations for new mothers.
“I’ve been doing this for so long,” said volunteer Deborah Pitts. She’s been helping the group for about eleven years.
Pitts helps deliver items to seniors who can’t make it to the Mathis Community Center due to transportation challenges.
“They need to know that they are loved and that we are here to help and to serve them,” Pitts said.
Young Men in Motion members said they’re working to make a positive impact across the community. Week to week, it’s their passion for others that keeps the group going.
The Free Food Box Giveaway is available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., every Friday through December 2023, at the Mathis Community Center, 19300 Greenfield Road, Detroit, MI 48235. There’s no pre-registration required. However, food boxes are available on a first-come-first-served basis. For more information, contact Ms. Minnie at 313-443-5146