HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — With SNAP benefits paused and families in Hudsonville, Jenison, and Grandville facing uncertainty, Love Your Neighbor jumped into action. It all started with one question from a concerned community partner.
"A local church partner reached out to us and said, 'What are we going to do? How are we going to help neighbors who will not have enough food?' And that was the start of us gearing up, within less than a week, to start food distribution for neighbors in Hudsonville, Jenison and Grandville," Love Your Neighbor Development Director Kaitlin Verkaik said.
The need is growing faster than many realize. Verkaik says what may look like a financially stable community has thousands of families struggling quietly.
"Right in our community here, 37% of Ottawa County is struggling to make ends meet. We figure that there's an estimated of 4,500 households that are going to be missing those SNAP benefits," Verkaik said.
The nonprofit typically serves about 55 families a week, but now they're preparing for up to 500 families each week.
To meet the demand, Love Your Neighbor is expanding food distribution, packing boxes with pantry staples and providing weekly support until benefits resume.
It's not just staff making it happen. Volunteers, including those who once received help there themselves, are now paying it forward.
"That moment in time in my life where everything was so hard, the only thing I could think about was coming back here and giving back what they had given me," Jillian Cliff said.
Cliff is a volunteer with the organization.
The organization says they still need help — from canned goods and cereal to monetary donations and extra hands to pack bags.
Cliff says you don't have to know someone's story to help — just show up, because that's what community is.
"Do it to help your neighbor… No matter what side of the aisle you're on, you come up beside your neighbor, and you help people, because that's what you do," Cliff said.
For the list of donation items and food distribution areas, click here.
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