Author Archives: Feeding America

What’s not to like about a little rain?

Posted on by

For the past few weeks, we’ve been watching the skies.

If you live anywhere in the 5,500 square-mile Grand River watershed, you probably have been too. This spring’s relentless rainfall brought the Grand to record levels, flooding homes and businesses throughout West Michigan. Kent County’s early estimate puts flood damage at $6 million.

low-res-watershed

(At one point, we even got a call from a Grand Rapids Press reporter who wanted to make sure the river, which is right in our background, hadn’t spilled into the food bank. We had about five feet of breathing room. No sweat.)

All that rain was also a setback for West Michigan’s farms, including our own fledgling operation.

Matt Hehl, the local farmer and West Michigan Agricultural Education Center board member managing our farm, had planned to start tilling this week. But with the ground so saturated, he feared that any disturbance to the soil could cause erosion. Instead, Hehl is going to hold off on the tilling entirely this year.

Planting should start around Memorial Day. Photos to come.

The Grand River flows about 300 yards south of Eastmanville Farm. During April's intense flooding, that distance got a little bit shorter.

The Grand River flows about 300 yards south of Eastmanville Farm. During April’s intense flooding, that distance got a little bit shorter.

Setting our roots in the Eastmanville soil

Posted on by

Picture 60,000 seedlings breaching the top soil on a farm in Ottawa County. Then imagine those seedlings growing into six-foot-tall stalks ripe with ears of sweet corn, each one destined for the plate of someone struggling with hunger.

As you read this, that’s exactly what’s happening.

Farm-Eastmanville Barn

In 2012, the West Michigan Agricultural Education Center (WMAEC) donated a portion of its lease on the Eastmanville Farm in Polkton Township, just north of the Grand River, to Feeding America West Michigan. This spring, those three acres will be planted and harvested — with help from WMAEC — by the Food Bank.

Our first crop will be sweet corn. It’s easy to grow, it’s nutritious and it’s something almost everyone knows how to cook.

“The benefit for us is not only that it’s going to be a product that we don’t normally get donated, but we can plan for it,” said food sourcing specialist Katie Auwers. “We can stagger the planting so we can harvest week to week so we know that it’s coming.”

Matt Hehl, a full-time hog and grain farmer and a member of WMAEC, will manage the farm. “I just think it’s a worthwhile cause, and it speaks well of the local farmers and their willingness to give back to the community they make their living in,” Matt said.

After all, he added, feeding the hungry is “something that we do and we do well.”
Katie hopes that in addition to providing badly needed produce to families in need, the Food Bank Farm will further WMAEC’s work to educate people about modern agriculture, especially the hundreds of volunteers needed to harvest the crop.

“People ought to be interested in it,” Katie said. “It’s part of our culture.”

Farm-MattHehlFarm-LookYonder

How we can all end hunger together

Posted on by

It’s shocking, how many West Michigan families don’t know where their next meal will come from. But it’s amazing, what a big difference you make when you join Feeding America West Michigan – and thousands of farmers, manufacturers, grocers, restaurateurs and other committed citizens – in saving surplus food from landfills and sending it where it’s needed to feed the hungry. Ever wondered what you can do about hunger? This 4-minute video shows how a little help from you can make maximum change.

May 19: Join us in celebrating the life and work of John Arnold (1950-2012)

Posted on by

Most of us try hard to be good people. We know that the smallest good deeds can have beneficial ripple effects.

But in every generation, a few people manage to start enormous waves of change – and sometimes even to turn the tide against long-term problems.

John Arnold was one of those people. As our executive director for 21 years, John was the driving force behind developing a food bank that would do more to help the hungry than almost anyone could have imagined. Today, as a direct result of John’s vision and energy, Feeding America West Michigan reaches more than 100,000 households in 40 counties. His model of rescuing good food and having those who need it choose what they could use has become the standard around the country. His vision of mobile food trucks providing perishable goods directly to communities has been duplicated in more than 100 food banks around the country.

Please join us on Saturday, May 19 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. to celebrate John’s legacy – and follow in his footsteps – by visiting and volunteering during the John Arnold Day of Service at Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank’s main warehouse, 864 West River Center Drive in Comstock Park, just north of Grand Rapids. Get directions.

Let’s each honor John in our own small way – and together make waves in his memory and in the fight against hunger.

Later that day, the John Arnold Memorial Bike Ride will depart from the Food Bank at 12:30 p.m. This 15-mile trip to Rockford and back along the White Pine Trail includes a stop for lunch at Arnie’s in Rockford. Email Andrew Steiner at andrews@feedingamericawestmichigan.org for more information.