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Food Bank Council of Michigan says surplus farm produce supports Feeding America

A food bank leader says collaborations with farmers help provide fresh produce to the Feeding America network throughout the growing season.

Phil Knight is the Chief Executive Officer of the Food Bank Council of Michigan.

“Nobody’s growing food to see it go to waste, so they want to see it go to its highest and best intended use,” he shares.

He tells Brownfield the Michigan Agriculture Surplus System helps rescue excess food throughout the supply chain and creates additional markets for farmers.

“We love food that is maybe not as pretty, it’s blemished in some way,” he says. “Maybe it’s ill-formed, and the retail doesn’t want to put that out, but it’s perfectly good food, and that was the design of this program.”

More than 40 states have begun similar initiatives since Michigan’s was created in 1990.

Knight says the sourcing process has become a valuable tool for feeding programs nationwide to access in-season produce.

“It creates a second, secondary market,” he explains. “When we say Michigan feeds the nation, we literally mean it because we’re sending food out of Michigan that are over and above what our food banks need at that time and creating those markets across the Feeding America Network nationally.”

Knight says the food rescue efforts are a triple win because it eliminates waste, supports additional markets for farmers, and improves access to healthy food.

Michigan lawmakers have invested more than $40 million in the grant program since 2020 and are expected to maintain current levels of $12 million in the next fiscal year.