"This is how the emergency food system in the U.S. has operated – by nature, as a system it has been transactional, reactive, disempowering, racist, and paternalistic." In this special op ed, Erin Skidmore, Good Food Systems Director, Access of West Michigan, explores the history of the charity food system, the cracks in an unsustainable web of nonprofits, and the pathways to move forward.

"People are defined by the water in Michigan, and access to it is really a deep value and a fundamental right."