The World Socialist Web Site interviewed workers and professionals in Detroit about the worsening social conditions as gas prices and food prices soar. Larry Porter speaks with Wayne Wells, the president of the Gleaners Food Bank, the largest food distribution organization in the city, about the sharp rise in the need for emergency food aid.

Part one of the accompanying report, "The spiraling cost of food," was published June 20, 2008; part two, "The impact of gas prices," followed on June 21; and part three, "Collapse of an American city," concluded the series on June 23.