Outreach in Action

Local food programs help fill the grocery gap for those in need

by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall

Those living on a tight budget in the greater Stockbridge area have to be resourceful when trying to meet their food needs. With the nearest abundantly stocked grocery at least 15 miles away, many rely on what they can find closer to home. Stockbridge Community Outreach is focused on helping to fill holes in the shopping bags of those in need. We rely on food drives and donations from local individuals, churches, businesses, and community groups, plus the food provided by the Greater Lansing Food Bank (GLFB) and the South Michigan Food Bank. Keep reading to learn more about some of the food programs offered.

• On the second Monday each month, Outreach works with the South Michigan Food Bank to bring a truckload of 150 boxes of produce, dairy and sometimes baked goods to the parking lot at Jeruel Baptist Church for distribution to anyone in need (no residency requirements or income requirements—just give your contact info when asked.) The truck typically arrives around 3 p.m. Pallets are off-loaded east of the church building, and volunteers spring into action sorting and preparing the food boxes. Distribution starts at 4 p.m., with cars lining up well before that. Usually the parking lot is empty by 5 p.m., each box having found a good home. If boxes remain, either Outreach hands them out through the food pantry, or other area groups and churches step up to “adopt a box” and find it a proper home.
• Every Wednesday in the parking lot outside Stockbridge Community Outreach (at Elm and Cherry Streets in Stockbridge), the Greater Lansing Food Bank (GLFB) provides a “Pop Up” food distribution open to anyone in need. Each week’s harvest is a surprise as the GLFB delivers various perishable produce, dairy items, and sometimes meat and baked goods—all are gathered from businesses, including Meijer, Great Harvest Bread Company, and Whole Foods. GLFB drivers deliver anywhere from two to six pallets bursting with food. Volunteers, led by Director Gwen Reid, sort the delivery into bags—anywhere from 60 to 100 grocery bags each week—for area families. The groceries go out to anyone who drives up between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
• Our weekly Tide Me Over program, offered to kids at all levels in the Stockbridge schools, provides a bag of shelf-stable groceries to help kids who rely on school breakfasts and lunches to get through weekends. These bags typically contain items like cereal, peanut butter, canned vegetables, fruit, and pasta or rice.
• Outreach clients are also invited to “shop” our pantry once per month, wheeling a cart through a small dry goods/freezer/fridge area for food and personal care items. These shelves stay stocked thanks to a mix of goods and monetary donations from churches, community organizations, individuals and the GLFB. Gaps in our shelves are filled by intrepid volunteer shoppers who watch for sales at the bigger grocery stores.
• Outreach, with funding support from an Ingham County grant, collaborates with our local Mugg & Bopps in Gregory, Stockbridge and Munith and the Plane Food Market in Stockbridge, to provide pantry shoppers with monthly “Milk Bucks” redeemable for milk at these store locations.
• In season, Outreach works with the Open Air Market of Stockbridge to offer pantry shoppers “Market Bucks”— vouchers exchangeable for fresh food items or food-producing plants at the weekly markets. The markets spring up on the Stockbridge town square from 4 – 7 p.m. Fridays from early May through October. (Watch for a new food delivery program at the market this summer!)
• Stockbridge Community Outreach is a designated site for Capital Area Community Services (CACS) commodity food distributions each month on the second Friday.  This program is aimed at seniors and those on disability. To sign up, you must contact CACS at (517) 676-1065.

OTHER COMMUNITY-BASED EFFORTS:

• Organized for seniors by the Stockbridge Area Senior Center, prepared meals are currently made locally and provided weekly on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at noon at the Stockbridge Town Hall, in the basement meeting room.
• Dinner (free will donation) is offered to all at the Stockbridge Presbyterian Church on the fourth Friday each month.
• And for those with a green thumb and the dedication to grow their own food, free plots are available at the Eastbridge Community Garden off Brogan Road, coordinated by the Stockbridge Area Wellness Coalition. (Seeds are available from the Capital Area District Library’s Stockbridge location, and seeds and seedlings are available from garden manager Merelyn Snider ([email protected]).

For more information about these or other Outreach programs, please contact the Outreach office at 517-851-7285 or email [email protected] .

This column is sponsored by Stockbridge Community Outreach, our local food pantry, crisis, and referral center located in the Stockbridge Activity Center (old middle school) near Cherry & Elm Streets in Stockbridge.  Office hours are 1-3pm, Monday, Wednesday, & Fridays and by appointment. [email protected], 517-851-7285, or find us on Facebook.

Stockbridge Community Outreach works with individuals, local organizations, and large area food banks to help fill the grocery gap for those in need. Photo credit: iMattSmart on Unsplash.com