Food Gatherers

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, food insecurity is on high in Washtenaw County. Eileen Spring is president and CEO of Food Gatherers, and she says, since the pandemic, the demand for food assistance has skyrocketed and continues to go up. What is being done to address this glaring community need? Part of the solution also provides some rather amazing environmental benefits. Eileen joined WEMU's David Fair for a discussion on dealing with food insecurity and how food rescue also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For many children in Washtenaw County, when school goes away for the summer, so does a consistent source of food. To help solve this problem, Food Gatherers is bringing back its Summer Food Service Program. WEMU's Josh Hakala reports.

Food insecurity is growing in Washtenaw County, and your local postal worker is doing something about it. On Saturday, May 13th, letter carriers in our community will participate in "National Stamp Out Hunger Day." When delivering your mail, postal workers will pick up the non-perishable food items you leave out and turn it all over to Food Gatherers for distribution. John Odegard is president of Local Branch 434 of the National Association of Letter Carriers. He joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss the program and why letter carriers are working to make a different kind of difference for the people they serve.

The housing and homelessness crisis in Washtenaw County received some financial help at last night’s Board of Commissioners meeting. WEMU's Josh Hakala reports.

When the pandemic hit and we shut down, those living paycheck-to-paycheck suddenly faced the prospect of going hungry. But federal money was dedicated to providing a safety net. Many of those additional benefits have now ended, and not everyone is back to work and on their financial feet. So what now? Locally, an emergency food fund was established, and that program will continue as benefits for the SNAP assistance program drop. Markell Miller is director of Community Food Programs at Food Gatherers in Ann Arbor. She joined WEMU's David Fair to share the ongoing efforts to keep people fed.

Food pantries in Washtenaw County, and around the state, are struggling to meet demand. The United Way is providing some financial assistance to help them help those in need. WEMU's Josh Hakala reports.

The additional federal money that was sent to Michiganders who received SNAP benefits during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is ending. WEMU's Josh Hakala reports.

Michigan and Ohio State. The rivals will battle this Saturday to see who can win the year’s biggest college football game. But as WEMU’s Josh Hakala reports, the rivalry has extended to which school can help the most people in need.

A Washtenaw County food bank is getting a significant boost in funding. We get the details from WEMU’s Taylor Pinson.

President Biden announced that his administration wants to end hunger by 2030. Here in Washtenaw County, Markell Miller from Food Gatherers says it’s an audacious goal that she welcomes. WEMU's Josh Hakala reports.