DETROIT, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – With semitrucks delivering food supplies to church parking lots, community centers, and mobile distribution points across Michigan, there’s no hiding the fact that demand at food banks is surging according to a new NBC report – and it’s a bad look for the Biden- Harris administration in the lead-up to tomorrow’s election.

While Democratic officials may talk about economic “recovery,” the real picture painted by the increasing need for food support tells another story. For Democrats, especially as they are campaigning hard in Michigan and other swing states, the numbers are grim.

A surge in demand not seen since Covid.

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According to Feeding America West Michigan, demand has spiked by 18% in just the past year, an increase that even the food bank’s president, Ken Estelle, says surpasses COVID-era levels. That’s no small feat, given that the pandemic brought record unemployment and unprecedented need.

“We have never seen this level of need in the 43 years we have been serving this community,” Estelle told NBC. “It is significantly higher than during Covid and has pressed us beyond our capacity. We’ve just seen this drumbeat increase every month of more people and more people. Our capacity is stretched to the limit.”

The rising costs of food essentials like milk, bread, and ground beef are part of the squeeze on household budgets. According to the NBC report, a pound of ground beef is up 42% from four years ago; a gallon of milk up 17% and a loaf up bread is 32% higher.

With inflation hanging around and wages barely keeping pace, many Michiganders are finding themselves forced to turn to food pantries for basic survival. The sight of long lines at distribution events – sometimes stretching out the food supply before the last families are served – reveals just how deep the crisis runs.

Food banks under stress from many directions.

Food bank operators are facing unprecedented challenges as they struggle to keep up with surging demand. With federal assistance dipping from pandemic highs, some food banks are being forced to reduce the amount given per family and, in some cases, even turn people away.

“It’s almost become a form of income replacement,” said Phil Knight, executive director of the Food Bank Council of Michigan, noting that regular visits have become a routine necessity for many lower- income families, where once they were only for emergencies. Rising costs and dwindling aid have led most food banks to scale back distributions, although some are managing to provide a bit more than usual despite the strain.

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The East Lansing mobile food drive-thru at the University Lutheran Church has added pet food to their list of distribution items thanks fo the Ingham County Animal Control and Shelter who joined their monthly food drive in October. The shelter’s community outreach manager Hannah Page said, “We don’t want someone to surrender their pet because they can’t feed them. Sometimes it comes down to ‘do we buy pet food this month or pay the electric bill?’”

Economic hardship in the heartland.

While some Democratic supporters argue that inflation has slowed, it doesn’t feel that way to Michiganders struggling to make ends meet. Despite claims of wage increases and low unemployment rates, residents from Detroit to the rural stretches of the state are seeing their budgets gobbled up by essentials. Grocery prices have increased at a higher rate than most wage gains, meaning households are struggling more now than at any point in recent years.

Kamala Harris’s solution? Measures against “price gouging.” However, even if she becomes president and has a Congress backing this proposal, even her own base is skeptical about it. Most critics argue that it would be more of a temporary fix in the face of structural economic issues.

Meanwhile, households are racking up big debt just to cover the monthly grocery bill with credit card debt up to a whopping record high $1.14 trillion in the second quarter of 2024. Most average annual percentage rates are above 20% and consumers have an average of $6,329 in credit card debt.

Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst for Bankrate, told CNN recently, “Inflation is still a big deal; even though it’s come down, I feel that’s still the dominant theme in the economy. Inflation is gobbling up a lot of the gains people are making. So, even if you’re working, and even if your wages are up, a lot of people are not feeling good about things.”

According to Bankrate, about 34% of consumers are living paycheck to paycheck, leaving the “working poor” struggling to set aside anything for a rainy day beyond covering their immediate bills.

Rust belt realities: political fallout ahead.

For Harris and the Democrats, the inflationary prices are a problem that won’t disappear by simply redirecting the narrative. The economic landscape in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – states critical to tomorrow’s election – remains a major issue. Her opponent, former President Donald Trump, is capitalizing on the economic hardship in these swing states, hammering home promises of lower prices, job creation, and energy reform during his campaign rallies.

The political price of a “hunger crisis.”

While the Democrats might hope to highlight economic progress in order to help them win their elections, the growing need for basic food support across Michigan is a wrenching reminder of the struggles still facing Americans. In the past, food banks were a lifeline for those with temporary financial setbacks. Today, however, regular middle-income families are joining the lines, revealing just how far economic realities have diverged from the talking points coming from Washington and Democrats in Michigan who are hoping to hold on to their partisan power in the state.

As we approach tomorrow’s election, the impact of these lines at Michigan’s food banks goes beyond food – it’s a potential political dagger for Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party, who will need to contend with what voters are actually experiencing day-to-day.