Feeding America West Michigan launched a town hall on Aug. 14 with a serious message: the food bank needs assistance in purchasing food, as federal budget cuts threaten to leave tens of thousands hungry in our state.
“We are facing a perfect storm. … Demand is up dramatically, and federal support is being pulled away,” says Ken Estelle, president and CEO of Feeding America West Michigan.
Estelle and the town hall panelists noted that demand at FAWM has increased by 71 percent since 2021, while recent cuts to USDA programs have eliminated around $2.2 million in planned food purchases. The speakers warned that these combined factors will force families to prioritize between medicine, rent, and meals.
In response, FAWM used the meeting to announce the “Bridge the Gap” campaign, which aims to raise $1.5 million to purchase food, strengthen partner capacity, and ensure continued operations. Additionally, the panel announced that an anonymous donor from northern Michigan pledged to match the first $300,000 raised, aiming to energize other donors to help meet the growing need.
The campaign’s design highlights the point that while funding for food is essential, investment in the distribution systems is equally vital. FAWM intends to allocate 70% of the campaign budget to food purchases, about 20% to support partner agencies in scaling up their capacity, and the remaining funds for operational needs such as the truck fleet.
Estelle says the food bank cannot continue its current level of services without outside assistance.
“We’re spending $70,000 to $100,000 a week buying food,” Estelle says. “We can buy by the truckload, but we can’t sustain this without help.”
Meanwhile, residents’ needs are continuing to grow.
“We expect at least 50,000 more neighbors to need help over the next two years,” Estelle says, pointing to modeling the food bank has done for its 40-county service area, which includes the Upper Peninsula.
Estelle shared a story about a recent trip to the Upper Peninsula when a FAWM semi-truck carrying food intended for 500 people arrived to discover more than 800 neighbors in line. His team could only promise to return as soon as possible, offering no concrete date to those leaving empty-handed.
Seeking solutions
Panelists approached the issue from several perspectives, representing food bank clients, food retailers, and program administrators. All emphasized the importance of shifting from simply identifying issues to devising practical solutions.
Amanda Volz, a longtime resident of the Tri-Cities, is a client of
Love in Action, a faith-based social service organization headquartered in Grand Haven. She humanized the statistics by sharing experiences of canceled visitations, missed birthday celebrations, and the “secret shame” of not being able to feed a friend who drops by. She was often emotional while reading her prepared statement.
“I’m always afraid to have their friends over because they may get hungry and I can’t feed them,” Volz says. “Because of the type of food that Feeding America provides, the improvements to our physical health have been tremendous." She described how fresh produce and lean proteins transformed her family’s diet and improved their mental health.
Volz’s testimony wasn’t just a plea. It served as a bridge to solutions —demonstrating how nutritious food can be restorative rather than merely palliative.
Cheryl Youngquist, director of operations for Love in Action, encourages neighbors to support current organizations by donating surplus groceries, school supplies, or furniture; volunteering; or organizing coordinated “backpack blessings” for children.
She sees such efforts as more effective than creating another food pantry.
“If we look at what we have and we share what we can, we will get through this,” Youngquist says.
Youngquist’s counsel echoed a common theme among several panelists: starting a new food bank is rarely the best solution. FAWM already partners with hundreds of community groups and runs over 1,600 mobile distributions, and duplicating these efforts would drain limited volunteer and donor resources. Instead, panelists recommended supporting existing infrastructure by volunteering, hosting a mobile site, or donating to FAWM’s systems.
Older adults, rural areas under stress
Anna Fischer, director of
Healthy Communities Policy at Public Policy Associates in Lansing, explained how federal policy changes could worsen hunger. She warned that Michigan might face hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs if states are required to replace benefit funds and administrative support previously supplied by the federal government, with some estimates reaching nearly $890 million annually.
“SNAP (the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a federal program that provides food assistance to low-income individuals and families) helps lift people out of poverty and supports jobs in the economy,” Fischer says. She warns that new, stricter work requirements and increased paperwork will push more households into the charitable food system, even if they are employed.
Panelists strongly emphasized that the expanded SNAP work requirements will particularly impact older adults. They say that ageism and labor-market factors already hinder their re-entry into the job market, as preferences for younger workers, skills gaps, and ongoing hiring freezes result in older job seekers facing prolonged periods of under- or unemployment.
Fischer says that increasing the age threshold to include able-bodied adults 55 to 64 forces individuals who already encounter age discrimination and structural obstacles into an almost impossible job market search.
“SNAP helps lift people out of poverty and supports jobs in the economy,” Fischer says. “But if we force older adults into a job market that routinely shuts them out, we will push them into hunger and poverty even faster.”
A representative of retail partners viewed the problem from different angles but reached the same conclusion. Panelist Drew Beardslee of the
Michigan Retailers Association explained the challenges of narrow profit margins for grocers and higher prices in rural areas. He proposed quick retailer–food bank pilot programs — such as vouchers, subsidized baskets, or inventory-to-voucher conversions — that can be easily measured and expanded.
“Retail wants to be a good partner,” Beardslee says. “And when we look at the positive impact from our partners, those SNAP dollars go farther and do much good within our rural economies.”
Beardslee joined other panelists in emphasizing the importance of community involvement: donate, volunteer, or support retail partners that give back.
Evaluate, then help
Panelists were candid: older adults, working families in small towns, and residents of remote townships will experience the earliest and most severe cuts. However, they concluded with practical solutions to mitigate the impact: targeted purchases of nutritious food, retailer–foodbank pilot programs, quick expansion of mobile services, and a transparent donor match that maximizes each dollar.
They called for accountability and specific metrics, including the number of people served by ZIP code, weekly mobile pantry trips, the proportion of fresh or frozen food distributed, and cost per meal. They also called for funding to expand the Kentwood food hub’s capacity for weekly deliveries.
“We will handle the emergency effectively," Youngquist says, emphasizing the importance of supporting existing organizations. “Reach out. Get involved. Don’t attempt to create a new system when a working one is already in place."
“We’ve seen our community step up before,” Estelle says. “This is how we ask them to step up repeatedly: by giving money, time, or space.”
Panelists advised beginning that journey by visiting
FeedWM.org to view Feeding America West Michigan’s partner map and mobile schedule, considering a donation to unlock the $300,000 matching fund, and reaching out to elected officials to discuss how expanded SNAP work requirements affect people, emphasizing the need for targeted support for older adults and rural communities.
Photos by Tommy Allen