Food Gatherers

Food banks and food pantries play a key role in meeting the nutritional needs of low-income children and families, who have less access to nutritious, affordable foods and are disproportionately impacted by obesity and diet-related disease. Our food bank partners make sure that times of sacrifice don’t also mean sacrificing good health.

Food Gatherers will receive support from PHA to implement a comprehensive nutrition ranking system over the next two years. PHA will provide technical assistance to help Food Gatherers understand the nutritional quality of its inventory, enhancing food equity for the communities they serve.

Food Gatherers is the food bank and food rescue program serving Washtenaw County, Michigan. The lead agency for hunger relief in the County, Food Gatherers supports a network of more than 170 community partners with free and low-cost food, deliveries, and trainings. We operate several large direct service programs — the Food Gatherers Community Kitchen, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Healthy School Pantry Program — and work closely with community schools, universities, and healthcare providers to address gaps in services. Because hunger will not be solved with food alone, we advocate for policies and system changes to create an equitable food system.

In our last fiscal year, Food Gatherers distributed 9 million pounds of food — the equivalent of 7.5 million meals — through our network of partner programs.