Food First

Innovation it is said, is the enemy of efficiency. The Deputy Undersecretary for USDA’s Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, Stacy Dean, is an innovator. She is investing her energy in making food more accessible to people with limited opportunities and on this week’s edition of Food First Michigan you will hear from her about how she is innovating processes and programs to help people get the food they both want and need.

On Food First Michigan we often say a job is the biggest tool in the anti-hunger toolbox, but upon further review lowering the unemployment rate isn’t the cure all to poverty. While the unemployment rate has dropped, the poverty rate has stubbornly stayed at around 10 percent and never dropped below 10 percent. On today’s episode of Food First Michigan Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson talk about the role of work in solving poverty and other social disparities that contribute to poverty in Michigan.

Dr. Katie S Martin, a PhD researcher from Tufts University and the School of Nutrition Science and Policy, is the author of Reinventing Food Banks and Pantries: New Tools to End Hunger. Martin has dedicated her career to researching food insecurity, talking with individuals who experience food insecurity, visiting food banks and food pantries, and creating programs that promote health, dignity, and financial wellbeing. Her goal is to create a paradigm shift in the way we address food insecurity to move from short-term transactions of food to long-term transformations of lives. Here more from her on these important topics on this week’s episode of Food First Michigan.

The Michigan Health & Hospital Association was the Title Sponsor for the 2022 Michigan Harvest Gathering giving campaign. They have been a long-time supporter of the Michigan Harvest Gathering. Hear from Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association about why they are committed to helping solve food insecurity for Michigan residents.

Happy five-year anniversary to Food First Michigan! Take a look back at some Best of Food First episodes and celebrate with us!

With the holidays upon us, we are seeing an even greater need for food need families across the state of Michigan. The Farm Bureau family of companies is committed to serve the Food Bank Council of Michigan’s mission of creating a food secure state in this season of Thanksgiving and beyond. Check out this week’s episode of Food First Michigan where we are talking with Michigan Farm Bureau CEO Scott Piggott about the potential for partnership, policy change, and the procurement of food for those struggling under a food insecure lifestyle.

Change has come to Michigan that hasn’t come in a generation. Specifically, political change. The executive office and both houses of the MI legislature will all align under the leadership of Governor Whitmer, Senator Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and our guest this week, the newly elected Speaker of the House, Representative Joe Tate. Rep Tate is a true leader, who believes in us, our work at the Food Bank Council and most importantly he believes in the families across out state that struggle with living under the curse of food insecurity.

The value of work is still important today and as is a heart of giving. It is the unique combination that can propel a family struggling with monthly bills to find financial peace. While work is important, necessary and the biggest tool in the anti-hunger toolbox – in many cases it is not enough. Our work at the food banks across MI needs good policy that supports work for people and families. We also need generosity from our community to help those who need help. On today’s show we talk with Carolyn Bloodworth from the Consumer’s Energy Foundation. Consumers recently invested a large donation in our work and Carolyn is here to share with us about this amazing gift. Work plus goodness is a winning combination for families struggling with living a food insecure life. That’s what we are talking about on this edition of Food First Michigan.

Join us for this week's show to learn more about the three hottest topics in the world of food insecurity -- Michigan Harvest Gathering; the upcoming election and why it matters; and the current state of food insecurity in our state.

This week Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, CEO of the Ohio Association of Food Banks joins Food First to talk about the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years. Dr. Phil Knight and Lisa Hamler-Fugitt were amongst a handful of hunger leaders from across the nation to attend this important event. Listen in to hear how the White House plan will address taking food insecurity off the table for all Americans.