After the state of Michigan closed K-12 schools and limited service industry operations to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, there have been significant shifts in the ways both schools and food banks are distributing food.

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) acquired a federal waiver to operate school food distribution statewide under a provisional “unanticipated school closure” protocol. This allows MDE to use funds from the Summer Food Service Program to feed students in nontraditional ways. MDE has streamlined its summer feeding location registration to support the creation of new sites, with a simple form to get reimbursed. (School districts are being reimbursed at the maximum federal rate.)

On March 23 Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a shelter in place executive order for all of Michigan. It's important to note that under the governor's executive order, K-12 school food services are considered critical infrastructure and will continue. 

School districts have the flexibility to individually determine the most effective food delivery system while minimizing social contact. For example, Ann Arbor Public Schools has 12 sites where families can pick up “to go” meals that contain a balanced breakfast and lunch for “children up to 18 years old and any child with special needs up to 26 years old.” Milan Area Schools delivered meals via bus routes and offered a drive-through service at one location.   

While school districts continue to finalize and announce their plans for distribution – if they choose to participate in the program – food banks, too, are seeing a high demand for services. The Food Bank Council shared with the Office of Foundation Liaison (OFL) that food banks in Michigan have doubled their average monthly output of food in just the last two weeks. Concern about the demand for food continues to grow as food banks begin to feel the impact of service sector shutdowns, senior center closures and auto industry layoffs. The OFL expects access to quality and healthy food will be a top priority in this crisis.    

Immediate Needs and Concerns

Communication and Information Sharing: 

• Not all vulnerable communities are aware of food distribution locations and times, or even their availability. This includes individuals and families who may be accessing these services for the first time.

• There are known misconceptions about the process. As an example, a state issued ID does not have be provided when picking up food; this concern has been shared as a barrier.

• Feeding programs can be siloed; a coordinated communication system is needed.

• Food Banks and MDE need shared data to monitor the provisional food system, identify gaps and coordinate responses.

Food Supply/Purchasing: 

• Increased food demand, hoarding at grocery stores and little-to-no in-season farm products reduce normal streams of food donations.

• Food suppliers across the country are working to meet high demand while challenged to simultaneously ensure workers and volunteers are safe and procedures are aligned with mitigation protocols. 

• While federal relief is being discussed, food banks need immediate cash flow for food purchases. Food needs for laid off workers and other vulnerable populations are expected to hit the emergency food system nationwide, resulting in serious concerns about long-term supply.

Volunteers 

• Food distribution at vastly increased levels will require significant community help. Discussions are occurring regarding deploying multiple pools of potential volunteers and existing plans that food banks have with the National Guard. 

• Food banks cannot accept volunteers without the ability to test and provide safety protocols that guarantee safety of volunteers, staff and recipients. 

Crisis Duration

• We are experiencing unprecedented strains on an already strained system with no sense of the duration of this “new normal.” Vulnerable populations, those with limited access to transportation, rural areas and those who are unemployed and underemployed face more challenges ahead, and we are not currently sure how long these challenges will persist.

Recommendations for Philanthropy:

• Stay informed and coordinate with your local/regional partners: Michigan philanthropists and nonprofits know their food banks and schools. In this early phase of the crisis, there is more happening on the local level that funders can immediately engage in as state and federal responses materialize. Advocate for coordination across siloes, establish collaborative tables to identify needs and responses and share your activities with CMF as we work more broadly to shape informed policy, identify roles for philanthropy and share effective responses with your funder colleagues.

• Consider direct financial support: The Food Bank Council of Michigan shares, “The network of Feeding America Food Banks are on the front lines of COVID-19 and are distributing record amounts of emergency foods to all those affected by the pandemic. These food bankers and their teams are courageous, tireless and dedicated to meeting the need for as long as the crisis lasts.” The Consumers Energy Foundation, a CMF member, made a $250,000 donation to the Food Bank Council of Michigan. “With schools and businesses closed and many grocery store shelves left bare, local nonprofits are playing a critical role in helping those in need,” Brandon Hofmeister, Consumers Energy Foundation president, said in a news release.   

• Be creative, be flexible and innovative: These unprecedented times call for philanthropy to leverage its intellectual capital, flexible funding and thinking, and networks to meet needs in new ways. In addition to needs specific to food distribution, these routes represent an infrastructure to reach Michiganders and could be used to make other goods and services available.

• Maintain the long view: The crisis is magnifying many of the systemic deficiencies on which philanthropy has been focused for years. Michigan’s Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) population is falling into a safety net that is already filled with our most vulnerable populations. Loosened state and federal policies during an emergency such as COVID-19 represent what philanthropy and its partners advocated for prior to the crisis. Eligibility for services has increased, reimbursement rates for programs have increased, training and credentialing has been streamlined, etc. How can we emerge from this crisis in a strong position to actualize systemic and policy improvements?

The Office of Foundation Liaison is working closely with the governor’s office and stakeholders to monitor, coordinate and share information on needs and gaps in food distribution during this crisis. If you have information to share about challenges your foundation or community, or effective work you and colleagues are implementing, please message Stephen Arellano with the OFL.