Hunger hits Detroit's middle class (armed guards for food)

[phantom power]

DETROIT (CNNMoney.com) -- On a side street in an old industrial neighborhood, a delivery man stacks a dolly of goods outside a store. Ten feet away stands another man clad in military fatigues, combat boots and what appears to be a flak jacket. He looks straight out of Baghdad. But this isn't Iraq. It's southeast Detroit, and he's there to guard the groceries.

"No pictures, put the camera down," he yells. My companion and I, on a tour of how people in this city are using urban farms to grow their own food, speed off.

In this recession-racked town, the lack of food is a serious problem. It's a theme that comes up again and again in conversations in Detroit. There isn't a single major chain supermarket in the city, forcing residents to buy food from corner stores. Often less healthy and more expensive food.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/06/news/economy/detroit_food/index.htm

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. I'm reminded of the 'private security' personnel in Soylent Green.

Armed guards paid to sit in the stairwell with their M-16s.

[phantom power]

2. This story disturbed me on multiple levels.

1) More private paramilitary armed guards.

2) For food.

3) And the whole "no cameras!" thing. Really? It worries me when private paramilitary armed guards are telling citizens "no cameras."

[AnneD]

6. Funny.....

Hubby and I watched it last night. Looking at it now compared when it was first released-it is so sad how much has come to pass.

[Botany]

3. There isn't a single major chain supermarket in the city .....

[dgibby]

4. Banana Republic coming to a neighborhood near you.

Of course, there won't be any bananas, but hey, you can't have everything.

This is why I've been stockpiling food and supplies. I'm planning on having at least a 6mo supply on hand, but would like to have a year's worth. I'm also working on a garden, front and back yards, complete with fruits and veggies. I'm doing edible landscaping in the front with blueberry bushes, dwarf fruit trees, etc, and the main garden in the back.

If anyone's interested, just google "sustainable living". There are a lot of good sites that will tell you how to store food and water, where to buy and/or make solar ovens, etc. Even if you're not worried about the disruption of food/supply chain due to the economy, it's good to have enough on hand to survive in an emergency or natural disaster.

[MellowOne]

5. Don't let your neighbors know

During very hard times, the worst in people can come out.

[CoffeeCat]

7. I am a stockpiler...because I am

a couponer/refunder. I get free stuff at the grocery store each week. I give lots
away to the food pantry and other charities. I also sell some of my stockpile at
two annual garage sales at our home. Many of my "customers" are repeat. So many people
in town know that I do this. I'm going to be on a radio program talking about
saving money at the grocery store, using coupons and stockpiling.

My husband has only been worried about my small-time notoriety recently. Last week,
he said, "How many people will be pounding on our door if things get worse?"

Kinda scary...but what can I do?

[fasttense]

8. This is so typical of cannibal capitalism or "Free" markets.

During the potato famine in Ireland, meat and vegetables were being shipped out to England, to the people who could afford to pay for expensive food. All the while most of the Irish people were starving to death.

"He says the food situation in Detroit is particularly depressing because the surrounding areas are chock full with some of the best eats around: Michigan grows some of the most varied crops in the nation, everything from apples and cantaloupes to peaches and watermelon. Windsor, just across the bridge, is the hydroponics capital of Canada. Artisan Amish farms are also close by in Ohio and Pennsylvania."

We never learn.