Feeding America West Michigan Mobile Food Pantries are incredible resources for their communities — and also powerful teaching moments for their volunteers.
Breaking down barriers, educating the community, eliminating stereotypes, and making connections are huge motivating factors for Michell Hampton and Tiffany Arisineau of The Greater Marinette-Menominee YMCA. Michell, former mobile food pantry coordinator for many years, is passing the program on to Tiffany, who is eager to pick up the torch and get to work serving her community.
“It’s a new opportunity for me to be more involved in my community,” Tiffany said. “I get to see the different needs people experience that we can help with.”
Michell shared that she appreciates how volunteering at mobile food pantries has been a huge educational opportunity for herself and other community members.
“I’ve always had a huge love for exposing people to what they’re not used to,” she said. “We can help educate and break down barriers of stereotypes for people who may be in line for food. That’s always been a big passion, using this to help educate others and show that they’re just regular people like all of us.”
In fact, Michell recounted several experiences where volunteers were shocked by how many neighbors sought the resources to keep their pantries stocked.
“They’re just like, ‘Michell, I cannot believe the amount of cars. I cannot believe the amount of people.’ It’s just eye-opening when we get to educate people on how helpful this is while keeping in mind that we do not know why they are in line. We have a lot of people who pick up for their elderly parents who can’t drive, or neighbors who are in assisted living that don’t have cars anymore. We have a lot of people who come and help other people in the community, so it’s not just for themselves.”
As someone newer to the mobile food pantry program, Tiffany had her own experience realizing the great need in her community.
“I’ve worked part time at the Y for eight years doing gymnastics, but I never fully saw the impact,” she said. “I knew the Feeding America truck was here. I just never realized it was that much of a need until I personally worked it. You see the people who come every single month, and I don’t think people really grasp that too much in our community — how much it really is needed.”
This is one of the many reasons Michell and Tiffany find volunteer opportunities like this essential.
“There’s this front that a lot of people are putting on,” Michell said. “They make sure they are acting how we should be acting. But then when you get behind closed doors, life breaks down a little bit because they’re too overwhelmed with life or work or family.”
At a recent distribution held at The Greater Marinette-Menominee YMCA, 341 households made up of 764 individuals were served. Nearly 15,000 pounds of nutritious foods like frozen carrots, potatoes, apples, cheeses, tangerines, peanut butter, and sausage were passed out to Menominee County neighbors.
When asked why they believe their community needs this resource, Michell added, “I just think there’s much bigger factors out there that keep people struggling. The bridge to get out of those places can be overwhelmingly difficult because the resources and the [societal] acceptance of people seeking help isn’t as strong as it should be.”
Mobile food pantries can serve as that bridge, in more ways than one. They are a resource to help neighbors keep their pantries stocked during difficult times. They are an opportunity for people of all ages to learn more and build connections with neighbors in their community. They are a chance for all of us to have a greater understanding of what neighbors are experiencing and to connect faces, lives, stories, and experiences with food insecurity in our communities.
Our gratitude goes out to Provident Health Foundation for helping to support mobile food pantries like those at The Greater Marinette-Menominee YMCA — where Michell, Tiffany, and their teams of volunteers give their all in their continued service.