Food First

Over the next 3 weeks, Food First Michigan will be focusing on Michigan's economy and its impact on food security across the state.

Tune in tonight at 9 p.m. to hear from Phil, Gerry and the brilliant Don Grimes. Don is the Senior Research Area Specialist with the University of Michigan Research Seminar on Quantitative Economics.Don provides both a state and national perspective and what we should expect to happen amid the economic recovery over the next 6 - 18 months.

With food being the most flexible part of peoples budget - we must be smart, systematic and proactive.

As always, food FIRST!

Do you know that Americans waste 133 billion lbs? of food? That has a retail value of over $161 billion! Over 40% of food waste comes from our own refrigerator and the other 60% gets lost between the fields and our plates.

Hear from Dr. Lisa Johnson - her knowledge of food hierarchy is astounding! Phil, Gerry, and Lisa delve into her most recent publication, "Farmer harvest decisions and vegetable loss in primary production" and so much more.

To learn more about her - visit lisakjohnson.com

DO BETTER - it's the right thing to do!

We've said it before and we'll say it again - everything rises and falls on leadership.

Tune in to hear how Andrew Zupancic is using his one handful of life to own and influence the future. Andrew is a sophomore at Bloomfield Hills High School and saw a need in his community amid the pandemic and chose to do something about it. He created Project Porch Pantry - a contact-less food drive. He is a thought leader and committed to making a difference in this world.

To learn more - https://projectporchpantry.wixsite.com/project-porch-pantry

In the past 8 weeks, Feeding America food banks have distributed 1 billion meals - that's 25% of the annual output. We have risen in a time of crisis and supported the need.

The food banks are an ever-presence help in a time of trouble for a nation, a state, a community or family. They do NOT stop - they RISE to the challenge.

They CHANGE.

They ADAPT.

They LEARN.

As always, FOOD FIRST

Tonight we are choosing to spread the woosah. Woosah is a meditative term that helps you relax - we could all use a bit of that amid the pandemic.

Tune in to hear from Erica Lang and Kelly McPhee, founders and owners of Woosah and Outside Coffee Co. Erica and Kelly are choosing to live and lead during the pandemic with grace and class. They are getting creative, per usual, and determined to make their businesses thrive.

They discuss the toxic stress of being small business owners and how COVID-19 has truly brought all of us closer together through hope, resiliency and inspiration.

Be sure to check out their AMAZING sites -https://www.spreadingthewoosah.com/ & https://outsidecoffeeco.com/

Trust me, I have purchased a lot of pieces, you will not be disappointed! And, you feel a little cooler and calmer just by wearing their swag.

As always, FOOD FIRST!

While COVID-19 has taken so much from us in the past two months it has also given us the opportunity to learn, evaluate and see life from a unique perspective.

Work is the biggest tool in the anti-hunger toolbox before the pandemic, and will be after. If we want people to not need us, or the programs we use any longer than necessary - we must change the policy to SUPPORT work, REWARD work and HELP people leverage their earnings toward becoming self-sufficient. To learn more about what it truly takes a Michigander to be self-sufficient - please visit https://www.fbcmich.org/selfsufficiencystandard.

Tune in tonight at 9 p.m. to hear from our HR specialist, Jodi Schafer, owner of HRM Services - http://workwithhrm.com/

Jodi discusses the challenges of how to return to work safely and what that means for both the employer and employee. As Phil likes to say, Jodi helps put the cookies on the lower shelf.

As always, FOOD FIRST!

Change is painful. Unknowns are scary. They are part of our everyday lives and we are learning how to live with the new 'normals'.

There is no doubt that our worldview impacts our thinking and from these worldviews, we derive our values - the non-negotiables of our lives.

Our food bankers, who are on the front lines every day, distributing record amounts of emergency to people in need across the state. They do this because duty replaces liberty. They do this because responsibility replaces rights. They do this because they are heroes. They will do this until well after this pandemic ends because they are here to truly help take hunger off the table for their fellow Michiganders - and for that, we are grateful.

Tune in to hear an update on the budget and the maze that is Michigan right now from Stephanie Johnson, partner at Khoury Johnson Leavitt. Stephanie is Food Bank Council of Michigan's lobbyist and specializes in labor, agriculture, education and human services issues. She consistently has her finger on the pulse in Lansing and is a plethora of information on what is happening in the state.

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures.

Tune in to hear from a favorite of many, Sheril Kirshenbaum. Sheril is the ED of Science Debate as well as the host of 'Serving up Science' on PBSDS.

With major concerns about shortages in grocery stores and mad scrambles to find the last box of pasta or toilet paper roll, many of the nation’s largest farms are struggling with another ghastly effect of the pandemic. They are being forced to destroy tens of millions of pounds of fresh food that they can no longer sell.

Food WASTE during a pandemic? HOW?

The closing of restaurants, hotels and schools has left some farmers with no buyers for more than half their crops. And even as retailers see spikes in food sales to Americans who are now eating nearly every meal at home, the increases are not enough to absorb all of the perishable food that was planted weeks ago and intended for schools and businesses.

Sheril has a refreshing approach to science and reality with a thought-provoking view on food waste and climate change. In Phil's words - she puts the cookies on the lower shelf.

Buy what you need and eat what you buy. SIMPLE.

'The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.' - Gandhi

Tune in to hear from Diane Golzynski, Director of the Office of Health and Nutrition Services of Michigan Department of Education. Diane and her team are standing in the gap and living by the words 'they must be well FED, if they want to be well READ'. With 1.5 million public school children across the state of Michigan, more than half of those students qualify for Free or Reduced Price meals.

When schools closed, Diane and her team put a plan of action in place to make sure the students that rely on two of their meals/day would be fed. As a state agency, their role was to remove the barriers, so the locals could do the work that they needed to do.

There are two words that should NEVER go together – children and hunger. With our allies and people involved in the fight against food insecurity, we are determined to be a part of the solution.

Please visit - https://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/schoolnutrition/ to find a site near you.

As always, FOOD FIRST.

All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we're giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That's one of the things that connects us as neighbors – in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver.

Listen in to hear from Phil, Gerry and Dr. Dawn Opel, Food Bank Council of Michigan's Director of Research and Strategic Initiatives discuss the importance of care-giving in our communities, especially senior citizens.

Our senior citizens are at risk more so than any other population group in this pandemic. Although all age groups are at risk of contracting COVID-19, older people face significant risk of developing severe illnesses due to physiological changes that come with aging and potential underlying health conditions. Therefore, congregate feeding sites were no longer an option and many seniors were without food.

Our team launched into collaborative action with Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Michigan Aging & Adult Services Agency to create a quarantine box. The quarantine box contents are well-balanced, high in protein, contain 33 items, weigh 26.5 pounds, and provide 22 adult meals.

Listening to the wisdom of someone who has lived their life offers us the opportunity to grasp wisdom and use the hard lessons life taught them to make our lives better. Cherish the wisdom around you – it is powerful.

As always, FOOD FIRST.

In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.

Food insecurity, in the midst of a pandemic, is magnified and multiplied. The solution cannot be, should not be, and must not be the responsibility of a community-based organization alone. We are grateful for the state and federal government continuing to stand alongside of us as well as our partners during this incredibly trying time.

COVID-19 is shining a light on the inequities that people are struggling with across society and we must continue to meet people where they are at, not where we want them to be.

While the pandemic magnifies so much negativity, let us not forget the positivity it magnifies as well. Communities are coming together, strangers are helping strangers, and people are donating their time and treasure in the midst of a pandemic and an economic crisis. This is powerful. And, I hope we learn from this.