On a brisk November evening, hundreds of people lined up and down the street in their cars waiting their turn to receive food from the parking lot of the Tabernacle of David Church in southeast Lansing.
Volunteers of all ages helped load everything Wednesday night from peanut butter, milk, fresh vegetables, bread, baked goods and canned food into vehicles as they drive through, serving hundreds of people in a short amount of time.
This mobile food bank is held every month. It's a partnership between the church, the city of Lansing and the Greater Lansing Food Bank.
Normally they’ll see around 250 vehicles but this time they expected to see around 500, said Michelle Lantz, CEO of the Greater Lansing Food Bank.
The jump in visitors is due to the federal government shutdown—pausing SNAP benefits for 89,000 Mid-Michiganders, she said.
“For the families that are on SNAP, their income levels are very low, but these are people who are working, they're piecing part-time jobs together and sometimes working full-time, but just at minimum wage,” she said. “So, they don't have savings to help get through this crisis time right now.”
Many are going into debt because they’re trying to decide between housing costs, utilities and buying food for their families, she said.
Once the benefits come back, it’ll take time for families to recover from the current freeze, she said.
“It's not just like once the money turns back on, their life is back to normal,” Lantz said.
Inflation and the rising cost of groceries in the past few years mean more people have turned to the Greater Lansing Food Bank for help, she said.
“We are just there to be supplemental, but right now we are serving as the primary organization to distribute food,” she said. “That's why it's becoming so much more critical that people in the community can give to organizations like ours to meet this need.”
The city of Lansing put additional money into the mobile food bank and others because of the increased need and the uncertainty of when SNAP benefits will come back, said Andy Schor, the mayor of Lansing.
“We're doing what we can and I'm really hopeful that the other communities in the area are going to do the same,” Schor said. “We really all need to jump in and help out wherever we can because while the federal government fights and refuses to release money, people on the ground are the ones that are affected.”
Volunteer and high school student Mildred Hernandez Perez has been helping out at this mobile food bank for about two years.
“I need community service hours but I mainly do it because I like doing it,” she said.
She helps pick up, move the food and give it out to people with a smile.
Donations of food, money and volunteering are especially important right now during this time of crisis, said Lantz.
People interested in helping out can visit the Greater Lansing Food Bank’s website to learn more or give them a call.
People interested in receiving food from a mobile food bank can also visit their website to find distribution schedules and locations.