We are honored to spotlight our incredible Hunger Action Partner award recipients that were celebrated at the 2024 Hunger Solutions Reception. These remarkable Michigan farmers and partner agencies have shown dedication and passion in the fight against hunger. Join us in applauding Mighty Fresh/Dietrich Orchards! When it comes to sourcing delicious Michigan grown apples and asparagus, look no further than Dietrich Orchards and Mighty Fresh Farms! Dietrich Orchards and Mighty Fresh have been a wonderful partner to the Food Bank Council of Michigan. They are accommodating to the needs of not only their local food bank, Feeding America West Michigan, but to that of the Michigan food bank network as a whole. They are communicative and always pleasant to work with. They have already moved over 1 million pounds of apples out to the food banks this current fiscal year and over 2.5 million pounds last fiscal year. The quality of their product is always wonderful – allowing the food banks to distribute more healthy, fresh food to communities across the state. @FeedingWestMich #FoodSecurity #FBCM #EventRecap #FoodBankCouncilofMichigan #HungerSolutions

We are honored to spotlight our incredible Hunger Action Partner award recipients that were celebrated at the 2024 Hunger Solutions Reception. These remarkable Michigan farmers and partner agencies have shown dedication and passion in the fight against hunger. Join us in applauding Clare County Food. In the county with the highest food-insecurity rate in Michigan, a small but mighty group of volunteers has doubled the number of households served at their mobile food distribution in just five years! Clare County’s rate of food insecurity is currently 18.3% and the need for food in this very rural county continues to grow. In 2023, a group of three volunteers, Jeri Harm, Bonnie Smalley and Debbie Mason, took over the leadership of Clare County Food. Jeri, Bonnie, and Debbie worked closely with Greater Lansing Food Bank (GLFB) to learn everything about hosting a mobile and made decisions that positively impacted every part of the distribution. Their dedication to serving neighbors in the most compassionate way, and creating a positive experience for volunteers, was always front and center in their decision-making. Within the last year since they took over as leaders, the mobile grew to numbers never experienced before, even during the pandemic. The pounds distributed to Clare County residents grew from 18,000 in 2020 to more than 33,000 pounds last year! Volunteers are pleased with the changes implemented and the Harrison community now holds one of the largest, monthly mobile food distributions in GLFB’s seven-county region. These three volunteers masterfully revived an ailing system and turned it into a premier model of mobile distributions. @glfoodbank #FoodSecurity #FBCM #EventRecap #FoodBankCouncilofMichigan #HungerSolutions

We are honored to spotlight our incredible Hunger Action Partner award recipients that were celebrated at the 2024 Hunger Solutions Reception. These remarkable Michigan farmers and partner agencies have shown dedication and passion in the fight against hunger. Join us in applauding Kroger Co. of Michigan! Nourishing families for well over a century, the Kroger Co. of Michigan is a steadfast partner to the emergency food network. Supporting the efforts of Gleaners Community Food Bank alone for nearly 30 years, the company strengthened its commitment to giving back when it embraced the 2017 rallying cry of Zero Hunger | Zero Waste, dedicated to helping end hunger and getting nutritious food to people in our communities who need it most. Over the course of the pandemic crisis and through inflation challenges, Kroger has not backed away from serving the community but strengthened its resolve. One example is the donation of fresh retail packaged produce, a welcomed source of variety for families Gleaners serves. This donation has increased consistently over the past five years to more than 1 million pounds annually. In addition, Kroger’s annual commitment to its January Food Drive exemplifies this encouragement of community participation. This drive helps Gleaners and its partners restock shelves at a time of year when food and financial donations are typically down and community need is up. More than food and funds, Kroger has also dedicated time to the quest to end hunger. As recently as March 2024, approximately 150 Kroger executive leaders, district managers, store leaders and others volunteered at Gleaners’ South Campus, packing 30,500 pounds of produce over the course of a couple of hours to distribute to Southeast Michigan. Since Kroger established the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste program, more than 230 Kroger staff volunteers have donated nearly 600 volunteer hours to hunger efforts in our neighborhoods. @Gleaners #FoodSecurity #FBCM #EventRecap #FoodBankCouncilofMichigan #HungerSolutions

We are honored to spotlight our incredible Hunger Action Partner award recipients that were celebrated at the 2024 Hunger Solutions Reception. These remarkable Michigan farmers and partner agencies have shown dedication and passion in the fight against hunger. Join us in applauding Packard Health! Packard Health is a community health center, promoting access to health and wellness for families in Washtenaw County. They provide high-quality, affordable primary care and mental health care, complemented by a broad range of fully integrated support services. They care for patients at every stage of life and believe that everyone deserves access to health care. Since 2007, Packard Health has partnered with Food Gatherers to help connect their patients to food. They have expanded their on-site pantry to three clinic locations over the years, and have distributed more than 800,000 pounds of food through their pantries. They have also made fresh produce and milk available to patients, along with meat, non-perishable staples, and personal care items, including diapers. Packard Health’s team helps connect neighbors to food in a way that is both easy for the patient and reinforces the connection between food and health. Packard Health staff also help connect patients to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and other resources they may be eligible for. Packard Health staff actively work with local organizations to help ensure patients have access to what they need to be healthy. Food Gatherers is grateful to the Packard Health team for their continued leadership and work to address food insecurity in our community. @FoodGatherers #FoodSecurity #FBCM #EventRecap #FoodBankCouncilofMichigan #HungerSolutions

We are honored to spotlight our incredible Hunger Action Partner award recipients that were celebrated at the 2024 Hunger Solutions Reception. These remarkable Michigan farmers and partner agencies have shown dedication and passion in the fight against hunger. Join us in applauding VanOoteghem Farms & Greenhouse! VanOoteghem Farms & Greenhouse has been a partner with the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan (FBEM) for seven plus years. FBEM first met Mike VanOoteghem in the winter of 2017, when he and his father were working in the greenhouses getting ready for the flower season. We discussed what the food bank does for the community and how VanOoteghem Farms & Greenhouse could help the food bank serve their neighbors. We decided that we would give the partnership a try for the year and see how it would work out – and here we are, years later, and our partnership remains strong. VanOoteghem Farms & Greenhouse grows potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, cabbage, and peppers. The first year we worked together, the food bank received 155,475 pounds of fresh produce, every year after it has been 200,000 pounds or more. The total that FBEM has received from VanOoteghem Farms & Greenhouse over the years is 1,847,762 pounds of fresh produce, which equals 1,539,801 meals! Mike is all in with what he can do to help the food bank and the communities we serve. #FoodSecurity #FBCM #EventRecap #FoodBankCouncilofMichigan #HungerSolutions

We are honored to spotlight our incredible Hunger Action Partner award recipients that were celebrated at the 2024 Hunger Solutions Reception. These remarkable Michigan farmers and partner agencies have shown dedication and passion in the fight against hunger. Join us in applauding Hartford Memorial Baptist Church Food Pantry! Each month, Hartford Memorial Baptist Church Food Pantry provides nutritious food to 1,500 – 2,000 people facing food insecurity. For over 35 years, the Food Pantry has served people facing need. The Food Pantry leadership says, “The faces of hunger might surprise you. Many are middle class families, the working poor, children and the elderly.” At its mobile distributions, the Food Pantry provides food boxes of fresh produce, protein, dairy, and shelf stable foods. When they receive more food than can fit in the boxes, they put that “extra” food onto tables for people to select additional healthy foods. The Food Pantry also supports home delivery to people who are food insecure but cannot reach the mobile distributions. Each week, the Food Pantry volunteers deliver food to about 52 homebound seniors. Further, they offer holiday boxes that may include gift cards. In winter months, other pantry locations collaborate with the Food Pantry and, sometimes, the mobile distributions may occur in a covered drive through area. This caring approach demonstrates the Food Pantry’s foundation of respect and dignity for all of its team: the people it serves, its dedicated volunteers, and its staff. They believe that "No one should suffer from lack of access to quality, nutritious food." #FoodSecurity #FBCM #EventRecap #FoodBankCouncilofMichigan #HungerSolutions

We are honored to spotlight our incredible Hunger Action Award recipients celebrated at the 2024 Hunger Solutions Reception. These remarkable Michigan farmers and partner agencies have shown dedication and passion in the fight against hunger. Join us in applauding Swift Pumpkins and Produce. Swift Pumpkins and Produce began their partnership with South Michigan Food Bank (SMFB) in 2014, when they realized they had a huge surplus of peppers and they wanted to offer fresh, healthy options to those in need. The first year contracting with SMFB, they supplied 5,000 pounds of fresh produce for the community. “The food bank has helped us grow to become more of a full-time operation,” they said. “It’s made us whole,” pointing to the acres of land set aside for crops to be grown for SMFB’s Fresh Food boxes. When SMFB drivers go to pick up produce from the farm, it’s picked either that morning or the day before — so clients are receiving the freshest produce possible. SMFB buys over 270,000 pounds of this fresh produce every year, including squash, green beans, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, and zucchini. One thing the Swift’s love most about their partnership with the SMFB is that they know their life’s work is directly helping those in the local community. “It’s gratifying,” Lee & Karen said, knowing that the produce they grow is a crucial part of how South Michigan families can eat nutritious, well-balanced meals. “It’s something we never dreamed of.” #FoodSecurity #FBCM #FoodBankCouncilofMichigan #HungerSolutions 📷

Today, the Food Bank Council of Michigan is excited to convene our network of food banks and state legislators, in celebration of Michigan farmers and partner agencies from across the state that contribute to creating hunger solutions in Michigan. The 2024 Hunger Solutions Reception kicks off in 4 hours! #FoodBankCouncilofMichigan #HungerSolutions #FoodSecurity #FBCM

As Food and Agriculture Month comes to a close, we want to lift up a program that the Food Bank Council of Michigan is proud to operate: MASS, the Michigan Agricultural Surplus System! Established in 1990, MASS was the first of its kind in the nation and has become a model for over 30 states. MASS is a state funded program that enables Michigan food banks to purchase locally grown and produced Michigan products directly from Michigan farmers and distribute them to communities across the state. Today, MASS is a vital source of fresh food for Michigan food banks, supporting Michigan farmers and Michigan families. 🌟🌱🌾 #FoodandAgricultureMonth #MichiganFarming #SupportLocal #MASS #MichiganAgriculture #MichiganAgriculturalSurplusSystem #FeedingMichigan

March is #NationalReadingMonth! Food Gatherers has a list of family-friendly books and prompts to spark conversations about hunger and how we can help others. Check out the list online at foodgatherers.org/wp-content…

We are grateful to those who took the time to meet with us in person at our first-ever, in-person Michigan Alliance to Stop Hunger (MASH) meeting last week. Our discussion was incredibly insightful, and we truly appreciate the opportunity to connect with you face-to-face and delve into important topics together. 👐💚 New to The Michigan Alliance to Stop Hunger (MASH)? MASH is a collaborative group that meets monthly to provide timely information and resources on federal and state policies impacting food security and poverty in Michigan. If you're passionate about making a difference, we invite you to join us! Follow the link below to sign up and engage with MASH: bit.ly/MASHmeetingsurvey Let's work together to combat hunger in Michigan! 🌟#MichiganAllianceToStopHunger #EndHunger #CommunityImpact #MASH