Catholic Charities of West Michigan - God's Kitchen
At Catholic Charities West Michigan, we’ve been providing vital services to those who need them most since 1946. We are a community-based agency offering programs in West Michigan to help families and individuals succeed. We have 9 different office locations, with services covering those most in need, spanning over 50 counties. Throughout our history, we have recognized the needs of West Michigan and continually have adapted our programs to combat them. Over the course of the past few years, we recognized a need beyond where we were reaching - pushing us to expand our programming into rural communities.
In 2019, we began our initiative, God’s Roamin’ Kitchen - an extension of our God’s Kitchen food program in downtown Grand Rapids. The rural communities outside of the city are in dire need of access to complimentary meals. Rural Michiganders may struggle with issues of food availability (lack of nearby grocery stores), accessibility and affordability even more than some of their city-dwelling neighbors. According to Feeding America, in regions outside of Grand Rapids like Newaygo County, almost 13% of the population are food insecure which is among the highest rates in Michigan, with an estimated 1,500 food insecure children.
God’s Roamin’ Kitchen food truck has been able to provide 100 meals each day in one of 5 designated communities identified for their high concentrations of food insecure families, while creating a platform for community health and resource specialists to engage with marginalized communities. Therefore, directly impacting food security and social isolation in many West Michigan households.
The food truck has followed a set schedule and rotated to set locations in Muskegon, Fremont, Kentwood and Wyoming. We have worked with community partners in those locations which include UCOM, TrueNorth Community Services and Green Apple Food Pantry to deliver these services at a convenient time and location to those most likely to be experiencing food insecurity. God’s Roamin’ Kitchen has allowed us to serve this population well and it greatly proved its need this past year serving over 15,000 meals in these communities.
In addition to our efforts of addressing food insecurity, we saw a lack of resources for parents and families in these same communities. We currently offer two No Cost Baby Boutiques in both Muskegon and Grand Rapids. These boutiques offer diapers, wipes, baby cream and much more for families in need - with no questions asked. However, the need reaches far beyond these two locations. The strong roots of these boutiques are the foundation of our newest initiative - a mobile baby pantry.
In late 2022, funds were awarded to us for our new mobile baby pantry by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services allowing us to purchase diapers, wipes, and ointment. Pregnancy and Parenting Services Program Manager, Stephanie Busch is passionate about reaching those who need our help - “Although we knew it would be quite a task to pull off this large of a distribution, we felt lucky to have this rare opportunity. It’s hard to even describe what we have encountered in the last months as we’ve met with families at distributions across 9 West Michigan Counties, some waiting in hour-long lines. We have heard so many stories of joy and of struggle. It’s been an honor to be able to walk alongside these courageous families.”
With that, we began mobile diaper distribution to 9 different counties in West Michigan. In each county, we partnered with a local organization to visit monthly and distribute diapers, wipes and baby cream to parents and children who need our support. Hunger Prevention and Children Services Director at TrueNorth Community Services in Fremont, Michigan Mike Voyt attests to the importance of this program “When Catholic Charities reached out and asked if we would be interested in partnering in distribution of diapers and other baby items, we jumped at the chance. We have a lot of folks in our area who are struggling right now to afford these essential items to take care of their families.” The organizations we’ve partnered with were intentionally chosen with the goal being about removing barriers for parents - we are now at where they are already frequenting. These choices have made it as accessible as possible for those who are struggling, knowing that transportation and access to minimal resources is extreme.
Our mobile baby pantry launching has saved West Michigan families over $330,000 dollars and put over 1,000,000 diapers into their hands. These staggering numbers show how crucial it is that we make our services accessible to everyone - regardless of location. After two years of launching these grassroots programs into rural counties, we are pushing forward into further counties - God’s Roamin' Kitchen will soon be in Belding and we are continuing to collaborate with organizations to fill the gaps of those in need in rural communities.