SOS Community Services in Ypsilanti has seen a drastic increase in food requests since the pandemic started.
The demand for food assistance at SOS has increased by about 30% since March. Barbara Cecilis the development director for the organization and says, as more and more people start losing their jobs or are impacted because of COVID-19, the demand has continued to increase. Before the pandemic, SOS received about 180 requests for food assistance per week. That number jumped to 211 a couple of weeks ago.
Barbara Cecil: We see parents who have school-aged children who are learning virtually at home, and they can’t work because they have to be home to support their children who are learning at home. So, it makes it hard to have the income to meet the basic needs of the family right now.
SOS is currently distributing 9,800 pounds of food per week. For information on how to schedule an appointment to pick up free food at the North River Street SOS location in Ypsilanti, click here.
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— Jorge Avellan is a reporter for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at 734.487.3363 or email him javellan@emich.edu
