The smallest steps in the right direction sometimes end up being the biggest and most important steps of your life.

Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, leads the nation’s largest nonprofit dedicated to creating food security. Tune in for @Food First Michigan on @WJR Radio to hear from Claire, Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson, president and CEO of @Gleaners Community Food Bank, on Sunday at 12:00 AM or 9:00 PM.

Claire is a leader among leaders. She exudes kindness and humbleness through the microphone. A Louisiana native, Claire has respected the act of serving others from a young age. Her parents partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank to help create a food secure community by distributing food out of their home. Claire knows that she was put in places for a REASON; if she listens and opens her mind and heart to service, she will find a path to value. The value is in the work of creating a food secure nation.

Hunger is NOT a partisan or bipartisan issue, it is nonpartisan. Creating food security is something we can ALL agree on! Governor Gretchen Whitmer has committed to making Michigan a food secure state and addressing inequities by creating the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, the Michigan Poverty Task Force, and the Food Security Council – chaired by Dr. Phil Knight. We are writing a new playbook and we WILL solve food insecurity – join us by keeping #FOODFIRST.

Who cares about food insecurity for children, senior citizens, working families, veterans, and community members with disabilities? We care, and so does Food First Michigan listener Doug Oberski.

This week Doug joins the conversation with Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson, president and CEO of Gleaners Community Food Bank. Tune in this Sunday at 12:00 AM or 9:00 PM on WJR Radio or NewsTalk 760 AM.

Doug grew up in a tight-knit farming community close to family and went on to graduate from Western Michigan University. Doug discusses how eye-opening and humbling it is to witness hunger in your own community. He reminds us that charity starts at home – by taking care of our neighbors.

One of the highlights that Doug recalls from his time listening to Food First was the conversation with Dr. Robert Bouvier, MD on the connection between access to nutritious food and medicine. Community members with serious health concerns frequently seek emergency food from the Michigan food bank network to help manage their conditions.

The Michigan food bank network strives to ensure all community members in Michigan’s 83 counties have access to healthy, nutritious food. Food insecurity has touched the lives of many and it is our job to care. Join the movement to create a food secure state by listening to Food First Michigan each week and by subscribing on Apple podcasts.

#FoodSecurity

#MoreFoodMoreOften2MorePeople

#FoodFirst

#FoodFirstMI

If there is a Goliath in front of you, that means there is a David inside of you.

Join Dr. Phil Knight, Gerry Brisson, president and CEO of @Gleaners Community Food Bank, and Juan Escareño, director of government relations & community outreach at Midwest Independent Retailers Association on @Food First Michigan, Sunday at 9:00 PM on @WJR Radio.

Juan understands the connection between food, business, and community. He grew up where food is centric and is always rooting for the little guys, the Davids. His family owned two grocery stores and where he worked 7 days per week. Juan is also part of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Food Security Council. His biggest hope for the council is to instill concrete policy changes that will impact the food chain in a positive way – including more local buying and sourcing, as well as resources for those who want to create such infrastructure.

Carrie Calvert, Vice President of Government Relations at Feeding America, also joined the show to provide an update on the latest from Washington D.C. The United States Congress wants to provide economic stimulus, while also prioritizing economic recovery.

Without hard work, the only thing that grows is weeds. Without attention and intention, the only thing that grows is again, weeds. Weeds rob good things of the opportunity to grow. Access to healthy and nutritious food will give a child a chance to grow, learn, and develop into what they have the potential to be. Food is not the only thing a child will need, but they certainly cannot develop without it. That is why we are working to keep #FOODFIRST.

Clip from Phil on Guy Gordon’s show

“The food insecure cannot wait. Talk is fine. Discussion is fine. But we MUST respond.” - Representative John Lewis

Governor Gretchen Whitmer is choosing to respond with action. In August, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 167, creating the Food Security Council (FSC). She was concerned for those struggling with food insecurity inside and outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. The council was formed to focus on formulating a cohesive, collaborative, and actionable plan for achieving food security for all of Michigan residents, both during the pandemic, and thereafter.

The FSC was directed to prepare and submit an initial report with short-term findings and recommendations related to food insecurity and COVID-19. The FSC Initial Report documented everything we learned throughout the pandemic and why it is vital to permanently take hunger off the table.

To read the full Food Security Council Initial Report click here  https://bit.ly/3omHbWY

When we put and keep #FOODFIRST, we will have better educational outcomes, better health outcomes, and better workforce potential as we move forward.

When a breach occurs and a gap is created. More often than not, it is filled with brave men and women who CHOOSE to stand in that gap.

We need people to come alongside of us and the people we serve to stand in the gap for families experiencing food insecurity. Representative Angela Witwer does just that.

Representative Witwer ran for public office to serve Michigan’s 71st District to stand in the gap for children, seniors and working families. She consistently puts PEOPLE over PARTY. We need this example of leadership now more than ever. Not only does she serve the 71st District, she was also nominated by the Minority House Leader to serve on Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s appointed Food Security Council. She is convinced that food insecurity is a solvable problem and is committed to seeing that hunger comes off the table. Click here to read the Food Security Council’s Initial Report  https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdhhs/FSC_Initial_Report_v6_712638_7.pdf

While there is a price to be paid to stand in the gap for the causes and the people that she serves, Representative Witwer has faith that there will be peaceful power again. When it all boils down, we must do the work and do what is truly right for the people!

We must continue to help people where they are, not where we want them to be. We need YOU to continue to stand WITH us, our 7 Feeding America food banks in Michigan, and all 208 Feeding America food banks across the nation. Stand in the gap with us by helping keep #FOODFIRST!

Not all heroes wear capes; some wear scrubs or drive forklifts.

This week’s show lifts up our heroes; the men and women of America’s food banks. Michigan’s seven Feeding America food banks serve all 83 counties. They show up to make sure senior citizens, children, and families who need food, get some. They rise each day with the mindset of helping their fellow Michiganders in need, often putting their own health at risk.

They rise early and stay late.

They sort, package and deliver to all who need it.

They have made it possible for the Michigan food bank network to distribute 50% more food than prior to the pandemic, and sometimes it still isn’t enough.

They serve. They give. And, they have done so every day of the pandemic with distinction and honor.

Pat Riley said it perfectly, “Hard times don’t create heroes, it is during the hard times that the hero within us is revealed.”

The food bank network teams continue to stand in the gap to make sure food gets to families who need it so they can find relief from the toxic stress of food insecurity. Our heroes wear food bank shirts, not capes, but maybe they should be wearing capes afterall. THEY are keeping #FOODFIRST!

The wait and the hope. People wait in food distribution lines for HOURS with the hope that there is enough to go around. The trailers hold approximately 44,000 pounds of food and sometimes that just isn’t enough for the number of people in need. In order to understand people’s truths, we have to know their stories. People often think that those who need our help do not try, but in reality, those who need our help typically wait too long because they are deeply committed to solving their problems themselves. Did you know that 47% of the people we serve are employed?

Dr. Luke Shaefer, this week’s insightful guest, set out to understand those who are trapped in poverty and held captive by food insecurity. Dr. Shaefer wears many hats - he is the Director for the Poverty Solutions Center, a professor at the University of Michigan, and serves as a Special Counselor for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to Director Gordon and Lewis Roubal, Chief Deputy Director for Opportunity at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Poverty is often the result of several interlinked systems that do not function as they should for struggling families. Understanding the impact one section at a time enables one to understand the system in a more comprehensive way and effectively help more people.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our food banks are distributing record amounts of food to families in need... Within every box of food, there is HOPE. The power of taking hunger off the table is demonstrated in the freeing of people’s minds of the toxic stress of food insecurity and allows them to focus on their successes and what could be.

Hunger is a challenge in our society that can unite us. If we keep people interested in solving this problem, we will create a food secure state.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” - Plato

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the largest public health crisis of the CENTURY, our seven Feeding America food banks are getting #MoreFoodMoreOften2MorePeople than ever before in all of Michigan’s 83 counties. We have more food than ever to distribute, a tremendous amount of which comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) yet 2 million Michiganders who still do not know where their next meal is coming from.

Tonight’s show is impactful beyond measure. Tune in to hear from community members who are accessing emergency food resources and getting help through dignified means. Individuals accessing food that is provided by our food banks are not just numbers - they are people and they matter. Their stories are driven by the commodity cliff that our food banks are facing in the new year. In the new year, our network will no longer have access to 30-50% of the food provided by USDA commodity programs that contributed to the product distributed during this time of elevated need.

There are so many stories to be told. Our fellow Michiganders deserve our help; they are OUR neighbors. Our work is critical and it is important that we come together during this time of dire need.Please help our seven Feeding America food banks by visiting FeedMichigan.org. Our network will continue to serve those who needed us before the pandemic, every person who comes to us for the first time during the pandemic, and we will continue to serve those who need us after the pandemic is over

COVID-19 has posed major challenges for all and we are all tired of it, but it’s impact rages on – and so do our food bankers.

The level of childhood food insecurity was unacceptable prior to the pandemic, and is absolutely disturbing now. The number of food insecure children in Michiganhas almost doubled since March. In early March, there were approximately 300,000 food insecure children living in our state, now there are more than 600,000. How do we know this? We know this because of the life work of our guest, Dr. Craig Gundersen. Dr. Gundersen is an ACES Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign as well as the creator and researcher of Map the Meal Gap (MTMG). Map the Meal Gap is one of the primary tools used by the Feeding America network to understand who is food insecure in our nation and in our state.

To view the 2020 food insecurity projections, visit: https://www.feedingamericaaction.org/the-impact-of-coronavirus-on-food-insecurity/

We are grateful for Dr. Gundersen’s work and how he is choosing to invest his one handful of life. His work concentrates on the causes and consequences of food insecurity and the evaluation of food assistance programs with an emphasis on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps).

Food insecurity is the leading healthcare crisis in terms of nutrition in our country. Serious healthcare costs associated with food insecurity are estimated to cost the nation $600 billion (this estimation accounts just for adults). Also covered in Sunday’s edition of Food First is a discussion on Gleaners Community Food Bank’s studies on the impact of food insecurity on education as well as the impact of delivering groceries to families while schools are closed.

If we want to make systemic change within our work, we must focus on and support those with disabilities (physical, mental and emotional), support our food bank network, and expand SNAP eligibility requirements while increasing benefit amounts.

Who needs help? How much help do they need? And, for how long? We must provide insight, understanding, knowledge and eventually wisdom in order to create solutions. While doing so, we must keep #FOODFIRST!