As Michigan marks nearly 11 months since the first confirmed case of COVID-19, our strained food bank network is still operating in emergency response mode.

A recent report released by Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Food Security Council provides data on the impact of COVID-19 on food insecurity across our state.

• Our state has experienced a 38.2% increase in food insecurity in Michigan’s overall population.

• There has been a 63.3% increase in food insecurity for children.

• There has been a 4.7% decrease in meals served from March-June 2020 compared to March-June 2019 statewide due to school closures.

According to the Food Bank Council of Michigan (FBCM), prior to the pandemic the food bank network was distributing 2.6 million pounds of food each week and since April the network has averaged 4.6 million pounds of food distribution weekly.

CMF connected with Dr. Phil Knight, executive director of FBCM and chair of the governor’s Food Security Council to get an update on the challenges and opportunities our state is facing in addressing food insecurity.

“We can tell you the need is great because people are still coming to get the food,” Knight said. “We see these heightened levels of food insecurity continuing through June 2022 because certain aspects of the economy will reengage sooner than others. We will need to be there for the individuals and families who need more time to financially recover from the pandemic."

Knight noted that prior to the pandemic ─ and until recently ─ food banks were receiving 50% more food through two federal programs that have since ended. One was the direct result of the previous administration’s tariffs placed on American grown food by China which led to more food coming to food banks and the other was the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) which provided financial assistance to farmers impacted by the pandemic. As those programs have ended so has the pipeline of food surplus to food banks.

Now the food banks will continue responding to the incredible need of the pandemic without those additional food sources.

“We’re going to do our best, which means we’re buying a lot more food than we ever have before,” Knight said.

While Knight says there have been many challenges in supporting those in need amid the pandemic, new partnerships and opportunities for innovation have emerged that have not only helped them be responsive in the current environment but also provide insights for future disaster and crisis response efforts.

In the early days of the pandemic, food banks had to pivot their distribution process to ensure they could provide contactless ways for people to obtain food either through pick up or delivery options.

“We were challenged early on trying to support all who needed us, many seniors may not have felt safe going to a grocery store, so they didn’t feel comfortable coming to a food distribution facility either,” Knight said.

Through innovative problem-solving and collaboration with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ (MDHHS) Area Agency on Aging and Consumers Energy Foundation, the FBCM created senior food boxes that could be delivered.

“Carolyn Bloodworth, [secretary/treasurer of the Consumers Energy Foundation], offered us trucks and drivers to get to some of the more remote and rural areas of Michigan. That was a great collaborative partnership,” Knight said.

Knight said the multitude of challenges related to the pandemic has helped organizations and agencies think creatively to reimagine systems for our communities in the future.

“I think that the things that we learned inside the pandemic will translate to greater and more effective service outside of the pandemic,” Knight said.

In his role as chair of the Food Security Council, Knight continues the work to solve food insecurity in Michigan. The council is making recommendations in key three areas including: 

• Addressing food needs facing Michigan residents.

• Collaborating with partners and improving the infrastructure for food and nutrition programs.

• Ensuring an adequate food supply in Michigan.

The council is part of the governor’s ongoing efforts to improve food security in Michigan now and in the future.

“Hunger and food security issues are nonpartisan,” Knight said. “It’s about building the personal as well as the political will to solve food insecurity and that’s what the governor has tasked us to do.”

Want more?

Learn more about the Food Bank Council of Michigan.

Read the Governor’s Food Security Council’s report.