HOLLAND, Mich. — Community Action House in Holland has been serving lakeshore residents for the past five decades. Last year, the organization served 11,000 neighbors with its Food Club and Opportunity Hub. The nonprofit is hoping to increase that number with the launch of their new Food Club Mobile Market by visiting different neighborhoods in Ottawa and Allegan counties.
Community Action House isn't a traditional food bank that you might find in other parts of the state. The nonprofit serves around 1,500 households each month.
"Food Club is membership based, so you qualify based on income and receipt points based on household size," said Chara Boum-Prediger, the nonprofit's Director of Food Access programs Friday. "At the Food Club, healthy items are incentivized, so they're lower cost. So, we know those are things that people struggle to get access to elsewhere. We know they're often the more expensive items, but at the Food Club, that's the opposite. A lot of our food comes from local farmers, producers, partners, and so it's fresh, healthy produce all year round."
Boum-Prediger said 14% of Michigan residents struggle with food insecurity. It's even tougher in Ottawa County.
"We know people are eating less fruit and vegetables than they are in the rest of the state," said Boum-Prediger.
Employee Anita Chavarria has seen what guests experience first-hand.
"It is a struggle out there. Guests come in here with vulnerability. They're struggling out there," Chavarria said. "This is where they can come and get food that are very high priced out there, right now, right here. This is where they come and they get to know us a little bit more, and they almost like become a Community Action Family."
Chavarria started as a volunteer four years ago and now works for the nonprofit as a member of their Guest Service and Volunteer Champion Experience teams.
"People call me or call the Guest Services saying, 'Hey, I am struggling. I'm not able to come to your store. Is there any way can someone bring me my food or anything?'" Chavarria said. "And unfortunately, we don't provide those services. But with this, with this new transition, this is going to be very beneficial for those that are struggling with no vehicle, or their vehicles break down, and they can come and go to those areas to get those items."
Thanks to a $300,000 community grant from United Healthcare, the nonprofit launched the new Food Club Mobile Market this week.
"The idea is really to get out to where folks are meet them in their neighborhoods and in their communities. We know that transportation can be such a huge barrier to accessing services that families and households need, and so bringing it out to them allows them to still have that access to healthy fruits and veggies," said Boum-Prediger. "So, we're going to be focused on sites that we know a lot of our members or folks who might qualify for our services are located. Places like apartment complexes, community partner sites, maybe it's a library or a church as well as mobile home communities and really focusing on the places where we know people do need the access but maybe can't get to us."
"I'm just super excited for the mobile market, to be honest with you, because that's going to help a lot of people in different counties," Chavarria said. "To see guests with a smile or with a tear running down their face, that brings like joy to me, saying that I'm able to serve them."
Food insecurity is an issue year-round and Community Action House is always looking for resources to continue to feed their guests.
"In times of uncertainty, like we're currently in, it's really important for us to be able to provide the service and continue providing the same level of service to our community. And so that does mean that a lot of our food purchasing costs have increased. And so we are always looking for folks to support our work and say yes to supporting the community we serve," Boum-Prediger said. "And so, now is a great time if folks are interested in a financial gift or spending their time to volunteer with us, all of those efforts really help to ensure that we can continue serving."
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