'Go Orange' to fight childhood hunger in West Michigan this March

Kids' Food Basket is asking West Michigan neighbors to 'Go Orange' this March in honor of National Nutrition Month and Childhood Hunger Awareness.

The month-long campaign aims to raise $145,000 to help provide healthy meals to children across Kent, Muskegon, Ottawa and Allegan counties, where more than 41,000 children — about 1 in 7 — face food insecurity.

According to 2023 Kids Count data from The Annie E. Casey Foundation, more than 1.4 million people in Michigan face food insecurity, and nearly 403,000 of them are children.

This year, Kids' Food Basket has received more requests for meals and support from schools and community partners facing budget shortfalls. In November 2025, SNAP benefits were reduced and delayed, affecting 1.4 million Michiganders. During that time, the Kids' Food Basket community mobilized quickly, distributing nearly 400,000 extra food items to Sack Supper and Weekend Meal recipients while creating partnerships that diverted excess food to where it was needed most.

According to the most recent data available from the USDA, 43% of Michigan households currently receiving benefits contain children, and more than 3 out of 4 households that rely on SNAP have someone who earns an income.

Kids' Food Basket is a food equity community organization dedicated to both meeting an immediate access need and addressing the systemic causes of food insecurity. The organization combines food access with agriculture and education, operating two 10-acre farms that distribute fresh produce directly to the community and teaching lessons about healthy food, how it's grown and why it matters.

This school year, Kids' Food Basket serves about 11,000 meals per weekday to 68 schools across West Michigan. Last year, the organization served 1.88 million meals — 30,000 more than originally anticipated — as need continues to grow.

Central to that effort are Sack Suppers, barrier-free evening meals distributed to children in West Michigan so they can have access to nutritious food they need to thrive. Each Sack Supper contains a serving of vegetables, fruit, protein and a healthy snack. Thousands of Sack Suppers are prepped, packed and delivered daily by more than 250 volunteers across three locations.

Last year, 10,700 volunteers donated 79,400 hours to power Kids' Food Basket's mission. The organization's education team also engaged with 4,960 individuals across 216 hands-on lessons, exceeding expectations by nearly 500 students and 80 lessons. Kids' Food Basket farms distributed 217,000 servings of fresh produce through Sack Suppers and 18 Farm to Pantry partners.

Kids' Food Basket is about 90% philanthropically funded, meaning 90% of its funding comes from individual donors and organizations.

Here's how you can participate in Go Orange:

• Make a gift toward the $145,000 fundraising goal
• Sign up to volunteer
• Dine out at a participating restaurant — a weekly list of options will be shared on Kids' Food Basket's social media channels
• Decorate brown paper bags for Sack Suppers
• Advocate online by following Kids' Food Basket on social media and using the hashtag #KFBGoOrange
• Wear orange and start conversations about food insecurity in West Michigan
• Collect funds or Wish List items and drop them off at any of Kids' Food Basket's three locations
  

Wish List items include any brand of:

• Fruit cups or pouches
• Pudding cups
• Meat sticks
• Cheerios
• Pretzels
• Cheese crackers
  

A gift of any size makes an impact for local kids:

• $5 can provide one weekend meal to support students on non-school days with consistent access to nourishing meals
• $10 can provide a week's worth of meals for one student
• $25 can provide meals for a small classroom for one day
• $50 can provide meals for one student for one month during the school year
• $100 can provide 2 classrooms with nutrition education that empowers kids to try fresh produce
• $400 can feed one student every school day for the entire school year
• $500 can provide a week's worth of fresh vegetables in each Sack Supper to a service school
• $1,000 can help operate the greenhouse for one month to provide fresh produce during the winter

To make a donation or sign up to volunteer, visit kidsfoodbasket.org.

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