A food bank is a non-profit organization that gathers, prepares and distributes food to food pantries and meal programs serving neighbors in need. Food banks act as food storehouses and distribution facilities for other agencies working to end hunger and usually do not give out food directly to people facing hunger themselves.

A food pantry is a place where anyone can go to receive food during a time of need. When supplied with food from a food bank, pantries are able to serve many more people from their surrounding area. Pantries look different in every community. For example, they can be connected to a church, school, or community organization, or they can be an independent organization.

Unlike a food pantry, a food bank has the space and capacity to handle large donations from the food industry. For example, a food bank has room for a donation of thousands of pounds of frozen, bulk carrots in one of its coolers and can safely process that donation into family-sized portions in its reclamation department. Food banks and food pantries work together to fill neighbors’ plates. The food bank sources, processes and temporarily stores large quantities of various foods. Then, food pantries choose the items and quantities they need to do their work.

Mobile Food Pantries are like farmers markets on wheels that provide supplemental groceries—including produce, protein, dairy, grains and more—to anyone in need at no charge. The food distributions are run in partnership with local agencies like churches, schools and community centers.

Right now, 1 in 7 of our neighbors is at risk of hunger, including nearly 80,000 children. This risk means they are food insecure. Food insecurity is defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. The causes of food insecurity are complex, but a few of the reasons that lead neighbors to be in need include system failure, insufficient income and lack of access to nutritious choices. Check out our “Need” page to learn more.

At the Feeding America West Michigan food bank, we gather food from a variety of sources, such as farmers, manufacturers, retailers, distributors, the USDA and food drives. We also purchase food to fill in any gaps in donations.

Food waste occurs at every stage of the food system—from the farm to the dinner table. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, up to 40 percent of food produced in the U.S. is wasted. Reasons for food waste include bumper crops, package misprints, storage and transportation issues, imperfect aesthetics and over ordering. While much of the food waste occurs during production, 58 percent occurs at consumption (in homes or restaurants), according to the World Resources Institute.

The food system in the United States aims to produce just the right amount of food, based on historical purchasing trends. This means if something suddenly stops selling well, there’s surplus. This showed up in reverse early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when so many people began rushing the stores to purchase shelf-stable food. The food system hadn’t expected so many sales at once and didn’t have warehouses full of extra waiting in reserve, so the shelves went bare.

Both monetary and food donations are important forms of support for the food bank. At Feeding America West Michigan, for every $10 donated, 90 meals are provided to those experiencing hunger. If you are interested in donating food items, check out our list of most-needed items or check out the “Donate Food” page on our website to learn more.

Our food bank serves 40 counties including most of the west side of the Lower Peninsula and the entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Within that service area, we work with over 800 food pantries and meal programs. This includes Mobile Food Pantry partners who coordinate over 1,500 Mobile Food Pantries each year. Wondering where to find charitable food near you? Check out FeedWM.org/FindFood to look at your options.

Yes! Ours is 1 of 7 Feeding America member food banks serving Michigan. The Food Bank Council of Michigan developed this map to show each food bank’s service area. Our 40 counties are green.

Government hunger-relief programs don’t eliminate the need for charitable food assistance. For example, a family facing unemployment may need charitable food assistance while they wait for SNAP benefits to come through. Or a low-income family may make just a little bit too much to qualify for any government programs. Or a senior living on a fixed income might qualify for only $16 in SNAP benefits. Or children who qualify for the National School Lunch Program during the week may not have access to other government hunger-relief programs on the weekends. In all of these situations, the charitable food system can step in and fill the gaps.

For every one meal the Feeding America network provides, SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) provides nine. Because of SNAP and other government hunger-relief programs, many neighbors have consistent access to nourishing food. Other programs include:

• WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), which serves young children and mothers
• TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program), which provides food from farms and other places to families in need, often distributed by food banks
• NSLP (National School Lunch Programs), which provides lunch to children each school day

All of these programs, and more, work together to mitigate and decrease food insecurity across the country.

Yes! Since the 1990s, practices have gradually shifted toward providing a wide variety of nourishing foods. At Feeding America West Michigan, our volunteers work hard to sort through all the items donated to us and discard what’s unusable, and our staff works hard to prioritize nutritious options. In fact, in 2023, over half of the food provided by our Mobile Food Pantries is fresh produce!  

Today, many traditional food pantries allow clients to shop as if they were at a grocery store, choosing the foods that are right for their families. New models like food clubs are also becoming more popular, where fruits and vegetables are as fresh as anywhere else—and “cost” fewer points than less-healthy options.  

In short, the food bank and our partner food pantries and meal programs work hard to ensure the food we offer our neighbors is worthy of our own dinner tables. 

We’re happy you support your local food pantry. They may be one of our partners! When you support the food bank, you’re helping many food pantries and meal programs stretch their program funds and access a variety of food in the exact quantity they need. No other organization in our region is equipped to gather and distribute the volume of food that we do. We appreciate every dollar donated and gifts are always used efficiently: 98% goes directly to hunger-relief programs. 

$1 provides 9 meals’ worth of food! Just one dollar donated can provide significantly more food than if someone were to buy that food on their own.

Food drives are best used as an advocacy tool and as a way to get kids involved in the fight against hunger. It’s true that financial donations create a bigger and more direct impact, but we don’t discredit the fact that food drives can elevate our mission. Learn more about food drives.  

The Reclamation department is where we process food donations. The projects Reclamation volunteers are assigned vary throughout the year. Some common projects include: breaking down bulk product—like cereal or diced carrots—into family-sized portions, sorting food drive donations into 25-pound food boxes, and repacking Pop-Tarts boxes.  

Yes, find it here at the bottom of the page.

Anyone age eight or older may volunteer, although those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. We encourage both individuals and groups to get involved and we have a variety of projects for our volunteers to do. See all our volunteer requirements here, where you can also learn more about volunteering in general.

If you’re located in our service area, probably! Learn about becoming a partner, here.

If someone is in need of food, our Find Food page is a good place to start. Neighbors in need can also call 2-1-1 for help, or visit this page to learn about government food assistance available.

Our food bank partners with agencies across West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula to serve neighbors in need. Depending on the type of program, different restrictions may apply. For example, anyone can receive food from a Mobile Food Pantry. Some of our partner food pantries and meal programs have income or geographic restrictions or serve a specific demographic, but generally, if you seek food from one of our hunger-relief partners, you will be served. 

Our staff and volunteers work hard to ensure the food we provide to our partners is safe to eat. We check all items against food safety guidelines, but the large scale of our operation means, at times, an aging head of lettuce or spoiled carton of milk may exit our doors. If you receive something that appears to be expired, check the Food Keeper App to see if it’s still safe to eat. Also, keep an eye out at your local pantry for postings about recalled food. Did you know that many food items are safe to consume long past their best by dates? This is because food manufacturers typically err on the extreme safe side with expiration dates. You can contact the food bank’s Food Safety Officer, Denise Sweet, with questions at DeniseS@FeedWM.org. 

Yes, you may attend any Mobile Food Pantries that are convenient for you. Unlike traditional food pantries, Mobile Pantries don’t have requirements—all they ask is that you confirm your need. 

No, no one is keeping track of your attendance. You may attend Mobile Pantries as often or as little as you need to.

Yes, there are various hunger-relief programs across West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula that deliver food. To find out if any traditional pantries near you are among them, visit FeedWM.org/FindFood and reach out to the organizations near you directly to ask. Or, see if there’s a Meals on Wheels chapter nearby. These provide seniors who can’t leave home with ready-to-eat meals. Also consider calling 2-1-1 to ask for recommendations.

In some rural communities, the local bus system picks up food from Mobile Pantries to deliver to neighbors who cannot drive themselves. To find out if your local Mobile Pantry host site offers this, you will need to reach out to the sites on FeedWM.org/FindFood directly. 

Most Mobile Food Pantry sites allow “proxy pick-ups” but may have some restrictions—e.g. only allowing each car to pick up for three households. Be sure to call or check the website or social media pages of the Mobile Pantry host site you will be visiting to learn their requirements. In order to pick up for someone else, you must be able to provide their name, address and number of people in household—this data is kept anonymous and used only to gauge community need.