Detroit food banks face perfect storm from inflation

More people in the Detroit area are relying on food banks as prices increase for necessities of all kinds.

Why it matters: It's causing a perfect storm of challenges for the 1.3 million Michiganders struggling with food insecurity.

• Less help from the government and increasing demand at food banks are adding to the burden, Food Bank Council of Michigan executive director Phillip Knight tells Axios.

State of play: The Food Bank Council saw need increase statewide each month for the last eight months, Knight says.

Zoom in: Mobile food pantries are serving thousands more each month. Gleaners Community Food Bank’s mobile pantries in southeast Michigan served 13,000 households in March.

• They served an average of 9,000 over the previous six months, Gleaners president and CEO Gerry Brisson tells Axios.
• "That is a remarkable increase month over month," Brisson says. "We’re paying really close attention to what happens in April."

Of note: The Detroit People’s Food Co-op recently started construction on a grocery store in the city’s North End neighborhood, BridgeDetroit reports.

• The co-op is part of a larger, Black-led community development complex called Detroit Food Commons, which aims to increase access to healthy foods with an incubator kitchen for culinary artists and food entrepreneurs, a cafe and other amenities.