In food drive line, families worry $600 stimulus won't be enough

Hundreds of people lined up for food boxes in Wayne County hoping to stock their pantries ahead of the Christmas holiday. Many in line said a $600 stimulus payment will be enough to pay a few bills but will not alleviate their worries.

"I think they need to go back and do the $1,200 stimulus check," said Theresa Carter. "We’ve got a lot of people who are out of work."

Renegotiation is not likely. It took months for Congress to reach agreement on a $900 billion stimulus bill, ending months of partisan gridlock. When signed, the bill will give $600 to Americans who make less than $75,000 a year.

Carter, who lost her job six weeks ago, says that money isn’t enough to help her take care of her mother, who is 70 years old, and her teenage daughter.

"It’s the holidays," said Carter. "This is ridiculous. I don’t even have words for it, really."

Others echoed her concerns. Cassandra Lee, mother of two, says her family is barely making ends meet.

"It’s really rough. It’s really tight. We’re juggling. That’s just the best that we can do with what we have," she said.

While Carter says she’s grateful for the stimulus payment, it won’t solve her problems.

"It would be just to pay the rent. It would not help with food, gas or a car payment," she said.

Gregory Quick, founder of the Three in One Family Center in Wayne County, has seen these problems on replay for the past six months. Hundreds have lined up for food at drives he has organized.

He says most of the people will use the stimulus payment to catch up on overdue or late bills.

"That money has already been spent," said Quick, "For those that have been affected by the pandemic, [a lot] of times their bills are behind, so that money is going to towards keeping the lights on, keeping the roof over their head, and a lot of that money is not going to go towards food, unfortunately."

His wife, Cassandra Quick, says she’s seen many people in line who never imagined they’d have to ask for help.

"[It] kind of brings about a shame because they did everything right, and they thought [they] never would be in line for this," she said.

On Monday, the Three in One Family Center handed out enough boxes to serve 1,200 families or 2,000 people. The organization won’t hold another food drive until the beginning of 2021.