Food Gatherers’ USDA grant will benefit Manchester, Milan programs
The Manchester Community Resource Center (CRC) is partnering with Aid in Milan and Food Gatherers of Washtenaw County in a program that will help increase food access for rural community members.
Food Gatherers, the food bank and food rescue serving Washtenaw County, recently secured an $85,000 “Reach and Resiliency“ grant from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) to partner with Aid in Milan and the CRC to extend homebound delivery and pop-up food distributions.
“Aid in Milan and Manchester Community Resource Center will both receive a portion of the TEFAP Reach and Resiliency Grant,“ Food Gatherers announced in a press release. “The goal of the grant is to address potential gaps in TEFAP coverage by making critical investments in food distribution infrastructure in underserved areas.
“Aid in Milan and Manchester Community Resource Center both serve rural communities in the county, where residents do not have access to public transportation. Through the grant, Food Gatherers aims to help its partners extend homebound delivery and pop-up distributions into rural communities to increase food access for community members.”
Eileen Spring, President and CEO of Food Gatherers, explained, “As the local food bank, we are thrilled to be able to access these federal dollars from the USDA. These funds will bolster the efforts of two of our long-standing partners who provide such critical safety net services in their communities.”
Aid in Milan will receive the majority of the grant funding to purchase a delivery van to expand services in the Milan and Manchester area. The food for the program comes from TEFAP, a USDA program that is a source of donated food for food banks and emergency food pantries. Food Gatherers will also provide a variety of other foods to our partners for their new and expanding rural services.
“We received $5,000 (of the $85,000) to cover our share of the use of the van,“ said Laura Seyfried, Director of the CRC. “We are still working out the details but we hope to have access to the van at least two times per month to deliver groceries to residents at Woodhill (Senior Citizens) Apartments and a site to be determined in either Freedom, Sharon, or Bridgewater Township.
“The one in the township might be more like a ‘pop-up pantry‘,“ she continued. “We will utilize volunteers to help with the legwork of the program — packing the groceries, riding along on the deliveries, etc.
“The Reach and Resiliency grant is a game-changer,” says Michele McGovern, Interim Executive Director at Aid in Milan. “We believe that access to fresh and healthy food is for everyone, whether they can drive to us or not and the grant will allow us to expand our food pantry programs further into the community.
“We specialize in finding solutions to problems, but none of it would be possible without Food Gatherers swooping in with supplies and resources again and again. They are vital to our day-to-day work and ultimately to our community. We couldn’t be more thankful for this partnership.“
Seyfried said Aid In Milan will be purchasing the van and maintaining the insurance, which is why they received the majority of the funds.
“This is a one-year pilot program for the CRC,“ she added. “If all goes well, we will work toward extending the partnership or finding a new opportunity.“
About Food Gatherers
Food Gatherers’ mission is to alleviate hunger and eliminate its root causes in Washtenaw County. Last year, our food bank and food rescue program distributed 7.3 million pounds of food to more than 170 nonprofit programs serving adults, seniors, and children. For a list of our partner programs or to learn how you can become involved in the fight against hunger locally, please visit www.foodgatherers.org or call 734-761-2796.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login