By Cody Yarbrough, Contributing Writer
On a chilly and windy November day, hundreds of people from across the Osborn community and beyond convened at The Matrix Center. A caravan of cars stretched down 6 Mile (McNicholas Road) and snaked through parking lots and alleys as they waited for 2 p.m.
Those without a vehicle made the trek to the center on foot while pushing shopping carts and carrying large bags. Organizers and volunteers scrambled around, making sure they were prepared to serve as many people as they could. Even the Detroit Police were present to do their part in ensuring the success of the event. This crowd hadn’t gathered for a communal family fun day or a free concert for the holidays, but instead, the thing that they had all traveled for was food for their families.
The hardships of food insecurity are a struggle that many Detroit citizens know all too well. Like most aspects of poverty in America, food deserts disproportionally affect Black people. And with Detroit being one of the country’s Blackest cities, it’s no wonder why the city is second in the state in populations living in food deserts (second only to the isolated city of Grand Rapids).
About 1 in 4 Detroiters are estimated to be living in conditions where their next meal is more of a hope than a certainty. Factors like decades of divestment from the city, post-COVID inflation, and price gouging by major grocery store chains play a big role in this. On top of that, with close to 10% of Detroit falling under the category of food deserts, much of the food that is available in these communities is oftentimes detrimental to the health of their residents. A food desert is described by the USDA as a low-income area (poverty rate equal to or greater than 20%) more than one mile away from a large grocery store. This means that if people in your area can’t walk somewhere to get fresh food or even afford said food to begin with, you probably live in a food desert.
“I think any one of us recognizes how difficult it can be when you go to the grocery store and the price of food has increased.” Matrix Human Services CEO and interim president Starr Allen-Pettway told Michigan Chronicle at the giveaway.
“A lot of families are unable to tap into resources that will help support them with finding and purchasing food at a reasonable cost. So, this opportunity and partnership with Forgotten Harvest allows us to service families and provide nourishing foods and nutritional foods for them for the holidays when they’re unable to do that for themselves.”
Established in 1906, Matrix Human Services is a nonprofit in southeast Michigan that has been serving the people of Detroit for more than a hundred years. Their community center in the Osborn neighborhood is the prime location for many of their programs, such as their medical clinic, GED, and other education courses, lectures on financial literacy, and food giveaways.
Allen-Pettway and her partners are the latest generation of leaders at Matrix who work hard daily to combat the struggles many people suffer while we wait for Detroit’s renaissance to be fully realized. Along with their many other programs that serve the community, twice a month, Matrix distributes food given to them by Forgotten Harvest to an average of 200 households.
Americans traditionally have a fierce opposition to anything they deem to be a “handout,” but when the food you and your family need to live healthily is kept out of your reach both physically and economically, personal pride gets sidelined more times than not. Items like chicken, milk, cheese, potatoes, fruits, and vegetables are all loaded into cars and carts to be stored in the pantries of Detroit’s working poor. Though they do these kinds of giveaways year-round, it’s especially important during the holiday season as people try to celebrate with their families despite their needs.
Allen-Pettway also told us about their extra efforts during this time of year to further help the community, “We will be doing a turkey giveaway for the Thanksgiving holiday. And every year Matrix facilitates what we call ‘Angel Tree’. For the Christmas holiday, we have families that are donors who sponsor families for the holiday, and they purchase gifts for those families and their children.”
In line with the holiday spirit, the DPD sent some officers to the Matrix Center for a day to help pass out groceries. With the recent tension throughout the city over the shooting death of Sherman Lee Butler, positive interactions with citizens are crucial for the Police to gain back trust and smooth over public relations. Officers worked as regular volunteers and helped keep the long line of cars organized and out of the way of traffic the entire time. They operated as civil servants should, and by the time they were done, the people they interacted with actually walked away better than they were before.
The issue of food in Detroit has a deep history seeped in economic changes, bad business, and, of course, racism. Grocery donations are only the first steps needed in a long journey to revitalizing the food deserts in Detroit. Luckily, organizations like Matrix are dedicated to seeing that journey through. Until Detroit gets to a place where our economy and infrastructure can support and sustain our communities, it’s up to those inside of the community to do what they can. That’s why Allen-Pettway ended our conversation with a call for support. Because more than good press and acknowledgments from the local government, organizations like the Matrix need you.
“There are always opportunities to volunteer services as well as donations. Matrix, like many other nonprofits, has access to grants. But oftentimes there are gaps in our ability to provide additional support for families in this community. So any dollar amount will help and support us in being able to do a better job at connecting and providing better resources for the community.”
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