Feeding America West Michigan

Feeding America West Michigan We work with community partners to get nutritious food into more than 1 million households annually.

08/21/2026

In 2025, the food bank gathered and distributed 28.6 million meals worth of food. This level of distribution is only made possible through partnerships with 800+ hardworking community partners. Because of their dedication, more than 1 million households across our 40-county service received nourishing food.

Our gratitude goes out to our incredible partners. Your commitment to ending hunger in our community means we can continue to do so much more, together.

Learn more about our 2025 impact: https://www.feedwm.org/2026/07/06/2025-annual-report/

For Heidi Southard, ending hunger is an intergenerational commitment passed down from her parents. Her mother was a nur...
08/19/2026

For Heidi Southard, ending hunger is an intergenerational commitment passed down from her parents. Her mother was a nurturing presence in Bridgman for 22 years, providing snacks for school-age children through her program Caring Cupboard at Woodland Shores. Heidi’s father also gave time to the program until both of them retired in 2012.

They passed the baton to Heidi, entrusting her with feeding children in the Berrien County community. Fourteen years later, under Heidi's direction, Woodland Shores Baptist Church's activities have broadened to include a fixed-site pantry and a Mobile Food Pantry. They also provide ingredients for holiday meals through their Turkey Tote Away, which includes turkeys for 90–100 families.

“I’ve noticed before the school year starts, the need increases. Parents need to buy school supplies and clothes, so they may come here to supplement their food budget,” Heidi said. “We also see surges before the holidays. A lot of people are looking for extra help, and if we can give it to them, that means one more gift they can buy for their child.”

Read the full story of Heidi and Woodland Shores Baptist Church: https://www.feedwm.org/2026/08/17/bridgeman-church-provides-nourishment-and-welcome/

Our gratitude goes out to organizations like The Pokagon Fund, which make resources like this mobile possible through Harbor Country.

Whenever the West Michigan Whitecaps score five runs in the 5th inning, Michigan Farm Bureau Insurance donates $2,500 to...
08/18/2026

Whenever the West Michigan Whitecaps score five runs in the 5th inning, Michigan Farm Bureau Insurance donates $2,500 to feed families in West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. Marketing and Communications Manager Anne Hamming met up with Farm Bureau's Kelly Obenauf and the Whitecaps' Brittney Behrens to accept this generous gift. We're always happy to have Crash join in on the celebration, as well!

Our continued partnership with both West Michigan Whitecaps and Farm Bureau fills us with gratitude. And this gift alone will fill plates by providing 10,000 nutritious meals for the community.

Thank you to our incredible partners at West Michigan Whitecaps and Farm Bureau for their ongoing support in the work to end hunger, together.

08/17/2026

Mobile Food Pantries deliver a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and protein to people in need of emergency food at no cost. We owe a debt of gratitude to our agency partners and incredible volunteers who get the food to our neighbors. Each year, we collaborate with community partners to offer more than 1,600 mobile food pantries throughout our service area.

From August 17 through August 22, we’ll be in 17 counties. This includes Van Buren, Osceola, Muskegon, Kent, Ottawa, Oceana, Cass, Newaygo, Ionia, Delta, Marquette, Berrien, Menominee, Mecosta, Manistee, Lake, and Allegan.

For the most up-to-date information about this week’s mobile food pantries, visit our website: https://www.feedwm.org/mobile-pantry-schedule/

08/13/2026

Thank you to our 120 community partners that serve the Upper Peninsula for the incredible work they did in 2025. Because of their dedication, 4.1 million pounds of food were distributed to families across fixed pantries, mobile food pantries, youth sites, meal sites, and more.

We're grateful to be partnering alongside community members who are deeply committed to doing what it takes to end hunger across our service area.

It takes dedication and the love of a community to run resources like Hesperia Community Food and Clothing Pantry, where...
08/12/2026

It takes dedication and the love of a community to run resources like Hesperia Community Food and Clothing Pantry, where up to 150 families along the Newaygo-Oceana county line seek support each month.

The Hesperia Community Food and Clothing Pantry provides everything from shelf-stable items to proteins, household essentials, and even formula, diapers, and hygiene products for babies. In addition, they offer a resale area with a mix of donated goods. They also have space to gather gifts to pass out to children during the holidays. Alongside these Christmas preparations, pantry coordinator Nicole also helps assemble special food provisions for holiday food boxes with ham, potatoes, and pies.

"It costs us $3,500 to do 80 to 90 boxes and the sheriff comes to help hand them out," said pantry coordinator Amy.

They receive support from area retailers such as Walmart, Dollar Tree, and Ed's Orchard Market on top of grants from Wesco and contributions from Shelby Bank.

Read the full story: https://www.feedwm.org/2026/08/04/on-the-line-between-two-counties-a-pantry-becomes-a-lifeline/

Thank you to Cargill for their generous support of our Lake Odessa mobile food pantry at Central United Methodist Church...
08/11/2026

Thank you to Cargill for their generous support of our Lake Odessa mobile food pantry at Central United Methodist Church - Lake Odessa, coordinated by Stephany Averill-Pipkin. Cargill has shown great support for this distribution for 13 years through both financial pledges and devoted teams of volunteers. This mobile only exists because of their dedication to feeding neighbors in Ionia County.

We're grateful for partners like you! We are working together to end hunger.

08/10/2026

Mobile Food Pantries deliver a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and protein to people in need of emergency food at no cost. We owe a debt of gratitude to our agency partners and incredible volunteers who get the food to our neighbors. Each year, we collaborate with community partners to offer more than 1,600 mobile food pantries throughout our service area.

From August 10 through August 15, we’ll be in 16 counties. This includes Allegan, Berrien, Grand Traverse, Muskegon, Kent, Ottawa, Van Buren, Ionia, Newaygo, Dickinson, Marquette, Lake, Chippewa, Cass, Montcalm, and Osceola.

For the most up-to-date information about this week’s mobile food pantries, visit our website: https://www.feedwm.org/mobile-pantry-schedule/

A reminder to all Michigan Bridge card holders: the Bridge card is getting an upgrade!The Michigan Department of Health ...
08/07/2026

A reminder to all Michigan Bridge card holders: the Bridge card is getting an upgrade!

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services will start sending out upgraded cards this month. MDHHS encourages everyone to make sure their mailing addressing is up to date. You can make changes by going to michigan.gov/MIBridges or contacting the local office or caseworker.

Card changes include a new design, tap-to-pay functionality, and chip insert capabilities. Instructions for activation will be provided with the new cards.

08/06/2026

Recently, Feeding America West Michigan and Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes came together to teach students of the STEM Summer Day Camp about volunteering at a mobile food pantry.

Guided by Agency Partnerships Specialist Gabby Mills, 26 students enthusiastically played their roles as farmers, grocers, drivers, coordinators, volunteers, and neighbors. They learned about food safety and client treatment. They even learned how monitor food safety with a temperature gun.

"I just love working with kids. They understand client dignity and choice so naturally," Gabby said. "They took the whole thing seriously, which I expected and leaned into. Without even prompting them, they started asking the neighbors in line what canned veggie they wanted and they allowed neighbors to say yes or no to items. I thought that was really cool — the kids were champs."

Thank you to Clare Schubert and Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes for inviting and working with FAWM staff to make this learning opportunity possible! We often host groups of student volunteers in our Reclamation Center, which is also a great way to introduce kids to topics surrounding food insecurity and give them experiences where they can help our community! To learn more about group volunteering in our Reclamation Center, send a message to [email protected].

Address

3070 Shaffer Avenue SE
Kentwood, MI
49512

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+16167843250

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Feeding America West Michigan posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Feeding America West Michigan:

Shortcuts

Share

Category