Outreach: It takes a village—and then some
by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall
Every Wednesday Pete Lonsberry pulls into the parking lot of Stockbridge Community Outreach off Cherry and Elm Streets and unloads pallets of produce, dairy and other perishable food from his Greater Lansing Food Bank truck.
“It’s nice helping people out,” said Lonsberry, who’s been delivering for the Greater Lansing Food Bank for three years.
Outreach Director Gwen Reid with driver Pete Lonsberry who delivered a fresh pallet of produce for a weekly Wednesday “Pop Up” food distribution held at Outreach from 1-3 p.m. for anyone who needs food assistance. Photo credit: Jo Mayer.
40 years of feeding the hungry
The recession of 1981 sparked the creation of Stockbridge Community Outreach and gave rise to the Greater Lansing Food Alliance, now known as the Greater Lansing Food Bank (GLFB). Starting out with monthly food drives and borrowed space from the Lansing School District, the GLFB has blossomed. The organization recently moved into a 60,000 sq. ft. new building to better receive, sort and deliver food to those in need in Ingham, Eaton, Clinton, Shiawassee, Gratiot, Clare and Isabella counties. After 40 years of service, GLFB—through its pantries, agencies, gardens, and food-rescue efforts—continues to work tirelessly to feed the hungry. In 2019, GLFB distributed over 9 million pounds of food throughout the seven counties it serves. During 2021, Stockbridge Community Outreach received nearly 105,000 pounds of food (the equivalent of 87,500 meals) from GLFB, a major Outreach supplier.
To distribute that much food requires the cooperation and support of many individuals, organizations, businesses and governmental agencies. Discount wholesale suppliers, other food banks, the USDA, the Food Council of Michigan and more are in the mix, said GLFB Warehouse Inventory Manager Sarah Szwejda. In addition, she explained, retail partners provide food donations at no cost, including food sorted by volunteers looking for occasional close-dated or past-dated items.
This chart from GLFB’s website shows the important connections, cooperation, and support it takes to receive and distribute food to the community.
The Garden Project
In 1982, GLFB launched Garden Project. According to Michael Steibel, Marketing and Communications Manager at GLFB, this program “provides garden plots, seeds, tools and gardening knowledge to people in underserved areas so they can grow, harvest, prepare, and preserve their own vegetables and increase the local supply of fresh, nutritious food.” This year’s Garden Project supports a network of 95 community gardens and many individual gardeners. Their Garden Project Resource Center gives away seeds and transplants and lends out tools to gardeners. They also offer free online tips and beginning gardening classes. (Stockbridge Library, CADL, is hosting one of these on April 28 from 5-6 p.m.)
GLFB staff member Michael Steibel holds up a sample seed packet in the “Gardens in a Bag” assembly area. Forty Gardens in a Bag made their way to Stockbridge Community Outreach. Photo credit: Paul Crandall
Pandemic effects
Asked about pandemic-induced challenges, GLFB Director of Philanthropy Kelly Miller said, “Those have changed every single week of the pandemic.” Miller adds that government assistance has been delayed due to driver shortages and supply-chain issues. These have forced GLFB to purchase a lot more food to keep shelves stocked and supply local food pantries. During the pandemic lockdown, no volunteers were allowed in, so administrators, aided by six Michigan National Guardsmen, rolled up their sleeves to pack food for distribution to local pantries and for the weekend backpack programs.
Other pandemic-related disruptions included a temporary suspension of GLFB’s Food Movers program, which rescues leftover prepared food from such places as MSU events, concessions and restaurants for quick re-distribution to GLFB clients and food pantries. That program was recently restored.
Food costs rising
And then there’s the spike in food prices, increased lead time and skyrocketing freight costs.
“Freight costs are a big one,” says Szwejda. She adds that the USDA truckloads have fallen by about half. “We used to get loads of protein, but we are now having to purchase any meat we want to provide to the community, outside of our regular retail pickups.”
Indeed, some shelves once laden with USDA-sourced foods stood empty during a recent visit to GLFB. But Miller stresses that the GLFB multi-pronged supply chain, though jarred by the pandemic, is resilient.
“We do have food, and we’ll continue to have it,” she says.
GLFB’s Mike Steibel, Julie Anderson and Kelly Miller show Outreach volunteer Paul Crandall where retail food donations get sorted. Photo credit: Jo Mayer.
And, thanks in large part to GLFB’s commitment and resiliency, so does Stockbridge Community Outreach.
For more information about the Greater Lansing Food Bank, go to https://greaterlansingfoodbank.org.
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.
