Food First

Barack Obama once said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. WE are the ones we’ve been waiting for. WE are the change we seek.”

Dr. Dawn Opel, general counsel and director of research and strategic initiatives for the Food Bank Council of Michigan, is the change the council had been waiting for. Tune in to Food First Michigan on Sunday on WJR Radio at 9 PM, for one of the most impactful shows to date. Phil, Gerry Brisson, president and CEO of Gleaners Community Food Bank, and Dr. Dawn Opel, discuss a powerful project, the Grace Health Fresh Food Pharmacy. The Fresh Food Pharmacy project is uniting community based organizations with similar missions to have greater impact together.

Grace Health is a Federally-Qualified Health Center [FQHC] that serves over 30,000 patients in Calhoun county and surrounding areas. Grace Health is focused on meeting the health care needs of underserved people in the community. The Food Bank Council of Michigan teamed up with South Michigan Food Bank and Grace Health to address food insecurity and encourage healthy lifestyles.

Made possible by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, this six-month pilot program “prescribes” home-delivered healthy food boxes for Grace Health patients every two weeks. In addition, the program offers healthy lifestyle coaching, check-ins, and support for cooking and eating healthy foods.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” –Hippocrates. This is the truth and the ultimate motto for many. Treating chronic illnesses is a TRILLION dollar business and a lot of that stems from childhood and not having access to healthy and nutritious food. There’s no $ in preventative health, but there should be. We MUST do better. Don’t come along for the ride, come along for the journey and join the movement by keeping #FOODFIRST!

MASS means MORE!

MASS, Michigan Agricultural Surplus System, is a grant-funded program with the State of Michigan through the Food Bank Council of Michigan. Using the grant funding, we purchase ‘cosmetically challenged’ produce that Michigan farmers are unable to sell to large retailers. This type of produce has many names; Grade B, seconds, #2’s, and the uglies. While there is nothing wrong with the produce, it just is not ‘perfect’. MASS keeps produce from going to waste in landfills and has a phenomenal Return on Investment [ROI], with average costs ranging from 12 - 14 cents per pound.

Tune in for Food First Michigan on WJR Radio tonight at 9 PM with Dr. Phil Knight, Gerry Brisson, president and CEO of Gleaners Community Food Bank, and Stephanie Johnson, managing partner of Khoury Johnson Leavitt, to hear how the legislative budget process works, how the legislature views the MASS program, and how MASS will mean MORE this budget cycle – MORE for our farmers and the families we serve.

Michigan was the first state in the nation to create a program like this, with 25 – 30 other states following in our footsteps over the years. There is over 70 billion [yes, billion] pounds of food in the United States that is either grown and unharvested or harvested but not sold. We in turn have a surplus of food and waste, yet millions remain food insecure. The MASS program is a small piece to solving the puzzle of food insecurity. It is a win for everybody; the farmers, the environment, food banks, and most importantly, the families we serve!

FBCM is asking for an increase in the MASS line item to accommodate higher food insecurity rates and the loss of USDA food programs. An increase in the MASS line item will allow our food bank network to continue distributing #MoreFoodMoreOften2MorePeople in the months ahead. Help us succeed in this mission by keeping #FOODFIRST!

We are asking for a CALL TO ACTION: please contact your state legislator to share your support for the impactful MASS program line item! When you support the MASS program, you support Michigan family farms.

Find this episode and all past Food First Michigan episodes at foodfirstmi.org, on Apple Podcasts, or iHeartRadio.

Apple Podcasts --> https://apple.co/38UUpFk

iHeartRadio --> https://ihr.fm/38WJ2wN

#FoodFirstMI

#FoodSecurity

April 25, 2021 - Food for Thought

April 24, 2021 - Monologue

When is a charity more than a charity? Charities that move beyond their charitable mandates multiply their influence, impact, and create sustainable sources of revenue that can take their effectiveness to a whole new level. The next frontier for greater impact in the work of food security is in the massive world of healthcare.

Pamela Yager, the director of social mission at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, joins the conversation this weekend on Food First Michigan. Tune in Saturday, April 17th at 5:00 AM or Sunday, April 18th at 9:00 PM on WJR Radio or NewsTalk 760 AM.

Social mission guides the way Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan does business. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has a history of a commitment to addressing the social determinants of health including through free clinics and their Building Healthy Communities program. Pam sees the potential of a partnership that goes beyond charity and how it could benefit patients, populations, and payers – a partnership that would further the mission of healthcare and charitable organizations, like food banks.

Pam is the co-chair of the healthcare workgroup on Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Food Security Council which is asking important questions on the role of healthcare in creating a food secure state. The workgroup is evaluating current programs like prescription for health and food as medicine initiatives to determine which are most effective. The workgroup is also exploring the role Medicaid could play in improving access to food.

Solving hunger requires the participation of all stakeholders. We thank Pam for investing her one handful of life in this mission and for making a difference in creating a food secure state. The future is bright and full of potential for the blending of food security and healthcare.

Find this episode and all past Food First Michigan episodes at foodfirstmi.org, on Apple Podcasts, or iHeartRadio.

Apple Podcasts --> https://apple.co/38UUpFk

iHeartRadio --> https://ihr.fm/38WJ2wN

#FoodFirst

#FoodFirstMI

#FoodSecurity

#MoreFoodMoreOften2MorePeople

April 18, 2021 - Food for Thought

April 18, 2021 - Monologue

Solving hunger starts in the field; it starts with farmers, families, and the seeds they plant that feed us all. Our farmers make Michigan the 2nd most agriculturally diverse state in the nation. According to Feeding America, we have approximately 50 million residents who are food insecure nationwide, with approximately 2 million of those people being Michigan residents.

Over 100 Michigan farmers partner with the Food Bank Council of Michigan and our food bank network to ensure families have access to healthy and nutritious food through our MASS [Michigan Agricultural Surplus System] program. MASS funding allows the food banks to purchase the “uglies,”the #2’s, grade B produce – whatever you may call it, from Michigan farmers at a low cost and distribute throughout their pantries. Michigan was the first to have this program and now 38 states have followed in our footsteps. MASS is one of the most successful programs across our food bank network and has an extremely high return on investment.

Tune in for Food First Michigan on WJR Radio this Sunday at 2:00 PM and hear from one of our influential potato farmers, Erwin Styma. Erwin runs Styma Potato Farm, a four generation farm, in Posen, MI. His team ships approximately 1,470,000 pounds of potatoes to the food bank system each season. Erwin discusses the impact that they are striving to make with their fellow Michiganders through the MASS program.

Several United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)programs that were supplying the food bank network with food during the COVID-19 pandemic have since been cut and stopped. There is an exponential shortage of food from USDA, but the lines at the pantries and distributions are long and will be for the foreseeable future.

Solving hunger for children and creating food security for seniors is, and should always remain a nonpartisan issue. Join the movement by keeping #FOODFIRST!

An exigent circumstance is defined as an emergency situation requiring swift action to prevent imminent danger to life, serious damage to property, the destruction of evidence, or the escape of a suspect. What if we applied the term and definition of exigent circumstances to childhood hunger, or senior citizens experiencing food insecurity?

Join Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson, president and CEO of Gleaners Community Food Bank, this weekend on Food First Michigan as they break down the exigent circumstances surrounding food security in Michigan. Tune in Saturday at 11:00 PM or Sunday at 9:00 PM on WJR Radio or NewsTalk 760 AM.

At times of crisis, meeting the immediate need and relieving the immediate suffering of the community is essential. The American Rescue Plan includes an extension of the 15% increase in SNAP benefits through September 30th, 2021, extends Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) benefits for the duration of the health emergency, provides $880 million to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and $37 million for senior nutrition through the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). This act will provide much needed support for struggling households.

We must be realistic – not optimistic or pessimistic as we work to build a permanent safety net that works for everyone who needs it. Michigan is slated to receive about 10 billion dollars which then must be appropriated by the Michigan legislature within the specified time frame. The stakes are high and basic needs like food must not be used as a political bargaining chip.

There are as many as 50 million people in America who are food insecure. We can bring this number down, together. We cannot let temporary relief take the place of permanent structural change that must take place. If children without food is not an exigent circumstance requiring immediate action, we do not know what is - which is why we will continue to keep #FOODFIRST.

Who wins when we win? This question drives our efforts when we discern who our partners are in our effort to create a food secure state.

Tune in to hear Dr. Phil Knight, Gerry Brisson, president and CEO of Gleaners Community Food Bank, and Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Gary McDowell this Saturday at 12:00 AM or Sunday at 9:00 PM on WJR Radio or NewsTalk 760 AM! During the COVID-19 pandemic when the need for emergency food was at its peak Director McDowell and his team searched high and low for food for the Michigan food bank network.. Director McDowell thoroughly discusses just how fragile our food supply system is and how the pandemic shined a light on it.

Director McDowell and his fellow Directors of State Agriculture Departments are members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture [NASDA] and have set an audacious goal of ending hunger in the U.S.! To learn more  https://bit.ly/3kNfXbH. They made a promise to uphold their duty to grow and enhance American agriculture to help nourish people and their communities.

While there is a lot of work to do reach food security, there are many people committed to achieving the goal! We say it often - solving hunger starts in the field. The farmers of Michigan have stood alongside of us to get #MoreFoodMoreOften2MorePeople. Hunger will NOT wait for policy change, we must do our part NOW; join the movement and help us create #FoodSecurity!