The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
When the pandemic swept across Southeast Michigan, food insecurity rose by 44%, impacting those most vulnerable. Every Gleaners employee—no matter their previous job title—shifted into planning, operations, and distribution. Team members worked around the clock to schedule drivers, find trucks, hire and manage additional staff, and warehouse the extra food.
Strategically sourcing food and efficiently distributing it to where it was needed most was Gleaners’ main objective. To best serve children and families impacted by school closings, Gleaners opened 66 new mobile food distribution sites in its five-county service area. With no registration needed, community members could walk or drive up to a site to receive 35 pounds of fresh produce, milk, protein, dairy, and shelf-stable food items. For those unable to attend—due to lack of transportation, health risks, and other barriers—Gleaners collaborated with strategic partners to assemble and deliver quarantine food boxes.
Gleaners served other hard-to-reach communities through its My Neighborhood Mobile Grocery (MNMG) program, which brings grocery trucks to low-income housing complexes. This enabled residents—mostly seniors and veterans—to purchase healthy food at a reduced cost without ever having to leave the safety of their own homes, as MNMG workers delivered grocery orders directly to each resident's door. Within weeks, MNMG served a record number of guests—more than any time in its five years of service.
The Gleaners team learned by doing and responded strategically as the crisis unfolded. By the end of its 2020 fiscal year, Gleaners distributed a record-breaking 63.7 million pounds of food, including 22.3 million pounds of fresh produce and 5.4 million pounds of fresh milk. By optimizing its people power and scaling up solutions that work, Gleaners led the charge across Southeast Michigan to feed hungry neighbors in the safest and most accessible way possible.