The holiday season is a time for gift-giving, gathering with family and enjoying a warm meal. For some, it can be a challenge to put food on the table.
According to Feeding America, 1 in 7 people in West Michigan are threatened by hunger. Several West Michigan food pantries told News 8 that this year’s need is at its highest of all time.
“It is getting worse. We had to implement some measures to reduce the number of people who are coming into the pantry,” Bethany Joseph, director of food and resources at The Other Way Ministries which is located on the Westside of Grand Rapids, said. “So during the pandemic, we were actually seeing everybody once a week and slowly over time we have had to decrease the frequency we’re seeing people because we just can’t keep up.”
Joseph told News 8 that the month before the government shutdown in 2020, their organization served about 150 families a month. In October of this year, they saw record numbers and served more than 1115 families.
