On Sunday, November 16, at 3:00 p.m. US Eastern Time, the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) and the Socialist Equality Party (US) are holding an online public meeting to organize the fight against layoffs and hunger. Register here to attend.
Reporters with the World Socialist Web Site visited food banks in Pontiac and Detroit, Michigan, over the weekend and spoke to workers and youth about the fight against hunger.
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High school student / McDonald’s worker in Detroit
“Well, I’m 17. I go to school, and I just got a job at McDonald’s. I’ve been going to the Capuchin Kitchen [food bank in Detroit] for maybe three months now. Trump, he’s taking away the SNAP, so there’s a lot of families in need.
“He’s spending millions on building a ballroom for people to eat cake, but we have to go to Capuchin Kitchen. ... There’s a lot of children starving. Schools have to do breakfast, lunch and dinner. That shouldn’t really be their responsibility. Dinner? Kids should be able to go home and get their dinner.
“Just because they return the November SNAP benefits for now, you don’t know how long they’re going to keep doing that. They know they have the power to help people that they see struggling, but they choose to help the people that are already wealthy. ... We shouldn’t be denied our human rights, kids included.”
Mother in Detroit
“Right now, I’m at a standstill because I’m trying to figure out how to feed my child. I’m not the only one. There’s thousands of people trying to figure out how they can feed their child. Don’t give them a half of a Thanksgiving meal. We need a whole meal.
“Everyone needs to get paid. Everyone has a family with children. They do not need to hold back people’s money like that. I’m a mother. I have a 17-year-old. And us mothers, we find a way to feed our children.”
WSWS: What do you think about a general strike?
“It would be nice. It could put a stop to some stuff. Yeah, strike for it then. Go ahead. Maybe we’ll get a change. We need a change.”
Unemployed worker in Pontiac
“It’s very sad for those who have to pick between getting gas and food and needing items in their house. They have to get food. You can’t get maybe soap or tissues or dishwashing liquid. You have to get food.
“It’s a choice sometimes for families. And some people don’t even get food stamps, and they’re still struggling, and they go to these food banks to try to get what they need.
“I think it’s really sad that they’re still going to cut, knowing how much it is of a need. With people getting pulled out of the country, I think that’s outrageous, too. And losing their families.”