Helping People in Need, Building Stronger Communities, and Making Connections

Recent news about funding for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits has increased awareness of food insecurity across the United States. Nationally, 42 million people depend on food stamps for their families’ nutrition needs, including 1.4 million individuals in Michigan.

Food insecurity

Food insecurity affects even more people than the data may indicate, as many people who experience food shortages may not be eligible for government programs. These include working families who do not earn enough to meet their housing, transportation, utilities, and other essential needs. In such circumstances, people and families look to food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, and other community and school-based resources for help.

While they are increasingly important in filling the gaps, food banks generally can only supplement other sources. They rely on cash donations from individuals and corporations, which allow them to purchase food at lower rates for distribution to people in need, as well as food donations from partners including grocery stores and restaurants. Food banks also depend on volunteers to sort, package, and distribute food to individuals to supplement limited staff availability. 

“It’s hard to exaggerate the importance of the food Forgotten Harvest provides not only for the sustenance it provides, but as an expression of compassion and generosity to the people receiving it,” said Eric Candela, Director of Public Policy at Forgotten Harvest Food Bank.

Volunteering

Eric Candela with Amy O’Leary met to discuss raising awareness of the role of food banks.

I had the opportunity to volunteer recently on a Saturday morning at Forgotten Harvest in Oak Park. In normal times, Forgotten Harvest delivers 144,000 pounds of surplus fresh and nutritious food per day to local charities five days a week free of charge. It has about 30,000 volunteer slots filled by 13,000 unique volunteers and corporate volunteers who spend a morning or afternoon sorting donations and packing boxes of food.

Forgotten Harvest Warehouse and Cooler

On the morning I volunteered, I was one of about forty people, including individuals who want to support their community, young people looking for community service credit, and a group of students from the University of Michigan – Dearborn. After a brief overview about the work of Forgotten Harvest by Food Processing Manager Telisha Coleman, we washed our hands, put on rubber gloves, and set to work sorting frozen meals, meat, seafood, pastries, bread, and other food donations from Meijer. Although some people knew each other and worked in groups, everyone’s goal was to do as much as possible as quickly as possible so the food could be distributed. We ended up sorting 8,461 pounds of food.

Since we worked so quickly, we had time to take on another project during our three-hour shift. We spent this time measuring, sorting and packaging dried beans into small bags. We worked in groups of 8-10 people. It was fun getting to meet other people who had decided to spend their Saturday morning volunteering. I worked with a group of students from University of Michigan – Dearborn who were part of Gregory Osowski’s Criminology and Criminal Justice Internship program. He has been bringing students every semester for the past ten years. He sees this as an opportunity to expose students to community service and learn new skills such as teamwork, leadership, and organization. He mentioned that for some students this experience was the first time they may have actually talked to others in their program because of the need to work together and get the work done. He observes how they organize themselves and show leadership – skills that will help them in their future careers.

Gregory Osowski, College Professor at Henry Ford Community College and UM-D, and Tiesha Coleman, Food Processing Manager, Forgotten Harvest

I worked with some of the students and participated in robust discussions on the best places to visit in Dearborn, as well as why and how they selected their career and education pathways. Law enforcement, healthcare, and business were some of the top career goals!

We packaged 4,400 pounds of beans by the time we were done, leaving time to clean and ready the space for the next group of volunteers. We left feeling grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the greater community.

Volunteers sorting beans and making connections at Forgotten Harvest

Whether or not they are in the news, the work of Forgotten Harvest and other food banks in our region is critical to serving the hunger needs of our community. Volunteers – whether representing corporations, organizations, or individuals – are an important community resource.

Taking a look at your network and what professional organizations are offering, is another great way to get involved. Recently, my colleague Sydney Jackson, SEMCOG Communications Specialist II, joined the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Detroit Chapter to spend a morning volunteering at Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan. She joined 11 other PRSA volunteers and packed 1,175 boxes equating to 12,220 nutritious meals for Southeast Michigan residents.

PRSA Detroit Chapter volunteers at Gleaners

Individual action

Individuals can also make a difference by arranging food drives. My friend Jennifer Llewellyn recently celebrated her birthday by organizing a food drive. It started as a desire to do SOMETHING. She says “I had a crazy idea to fill the whole garage with food…I’m blessed to have an incredible circle of friends, neighbors, family, and colleagues who showed up. Everyone felt compelled to be part of a solution…” In about three weeks she had collected cash and food donations resulting in 4,016 pounds of food. She is making donations to the Madison Heights Food Pantry and St. Mary’s Food Pantry in New Baltimore serving communities in Oakland and Macomb County.

Jennifer Llewellyn, Director, Oakland County Michigan Works!, with some of the donations to her food drive

Getting involved

As federal programs are restored to recipients, the pressure on food banks may decline a little, but they remain an important resource during the holiday season for many families and an important supplement for others throughout the year.

If you would like to help Forgotten Harvest or your local food bank by making financial donations, volunteering, or organizing food drives, contact any of the following for more information.

• Forgotten Harvest
• Gleaners Community Food Bank
• Salvation Army of Metro Detroit

In addition, Hour Detroit has compiled a list of organizations in the Metro Detroit area that provide food support for the community all year round. These organizations can do more with the support of individuals, groups, and organizations. Ultimately, the whole region benefits when we work together to help people in need, by making connections and building stronger communities.