Food insecurity is growing in Washtenaw County, and your local postal worker is doing something about it. On Saturday, May 13th, letter carriers in our community will participate in "National Stamp Out Hunger Day." When delivering your mail, postal workers will pick up the non-perishable food items you leave out and turn it all over to Food Gatherers for distribution. John Odegard is president of Local Branch 434 of the National Association of Letter Carriers. He joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss the program and why letter carriers are working to make a different kind of difference for the people they serve.
When the pandemic hit and we shut down, those living paycheck-to-paycheck suddenly faced the prospect of going hungry. But federal money was dedicated to providing a safety net. Many of those additional benefits have now ended, and not everyone is back to work and on their financial feet. So what now? Locally, an emergency food fund was established, and that program will continue as benefits for the SNAP assistance program drop. Markell Miller is director of Community Food Programs at Food Gatherers in Ann Arbor. She joined WEMU's David Fair to share the ongoing efforts to keep people fed.
Fustini's Oils & Vinegar is expanding their mission from what's on your table, to making sure healthy, flavorful food is an option at the community table.
“After much consideration, Food Gatherers staff and board have made the difficult decision not to host Grillin’ for Food Gatherers in 2023,” officials wrote in a statement.