FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — March 19, 2026
Feeding America West Michigan opens pantry in Kentwood to improve food access in the food bank’s neighborhood
KENTWOOD, MI — Feeding America West Michigan will celebrate the opening of the food bank’s first fixed-site pantry on March 24 with a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. at Second Harvest Pantry, 3846 52nd St. SE, Kentwood.
Second Harvest Pantry was developed because of the food bank’s commitment to ensuring that everyone in its 40-county service area has access to nutritious food. The idea for the pantry emerged in late 2024 when the food bank moved from Comstock Park to Kentwood. During the lead-up to the move, food bank leadership realized that their new ZIP Code of 49512 was underserved by charitable food resources.
Ken Estelle, Feeding America West Michigan’s CEO, said it was deeply important to the board and the senior leadership team to address food insecurity in the food bank’s own neighborhood.
“Ultimately, we hope that we can meet the need, and we expect that need will be growing into 2026 because of some changes in federal policy,” Estelle said. “We know that more people will come for help, and it is our mission to help people who need food support. We also want to make sure that they feel welcome, that there is a choice, and that they’re treated with dignity.”
Food bank staff worked throughout 2025 to identify a site and prepare. The pantry is located in one of Michigan’s most diverse communities, so the staff developed plans to meet needs for translation services. In addition, when products are available, staff will stock the shelves with cultural and ethnic needs in mind.
The pantry opened on Jan. 26. In the first seven weeks, the pantry served 2,021 households, averaging 289 households a week.
Estelle said the pantry joins a strong network of pantries that serve Kentwood and bordering communities, and he is hopeful that Second Harvest Pantry can relieve pressure on neighboring pantries.
As a member of the national Feeding America food bank network, Feeding America West Michigan serves 40 counties in West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. In 2025, the food bank partnered with more than 800 community organizations to distribute 28.7 million meals worth of food to more than one million households.
Feeding America West Michigan data indicates that the need for charitable food remains stubbornly high, with one in seven people in the food bank’s service area making tough choices between food and other basic necessities. The number of people seeking charitable food spiked locally and nationally in 2022 as inflation drove up food prices and Covid-era assistance ended. Demand for charitable food has remained elevated in the years since. Demand is expected to increase over the next year as changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility go into effect.
Second Harvest Pantry is open 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The pantry is also open 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturday of every month. Regularly rotating inventory will include a reliable variety of fresh, frozen, canned, and boxed food options.
Second Harvest Pantry serves any Michigan resident. No identification or documentation is necessary to access the pantry’s resources. Although there are no ID requirements, visitors will be asked a series of demographic questions about their household composition and the reason for receiving food.
More information about Second Harvest Pantry is available on Feeding America West Michigan’s website on its dedicated page: https://www.feedwm.org/second-harvest-pantry/
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Media Contact: Anne Hamming,
Marketing & Communications Manager
AnneH@FeedWM.org / 616.498.1936