Church Grant and Support Helps Michigan Food Pantry

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By Mary Richards, Church News

In the last five years, Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County, Michigan, has delivered thousands of meals to people who struggle with food insecurity.

Now a new grant from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will help JFS support its mission. The money from the Church, in addition to other private donations, means JFS is able to construct an expansion on its kitchen and grow the refrigerated space.

This will support the expansion of JFS’s capacity— through its Nourish Nutrition Services program — to provide more than 6,500 meals per month, or over 78,000 meals annually, to those in need.

Ann Arbor Michigan Stake President John B. Larsen said JFS cares for a variety of marginalized people in the area. The organization has a pantry service and also meal delivery services, such as for the elderly or homebound. As they have been able to expand, they have had more opportunities to provide specialized meals such as gluten-free or allergy friendly, and culturally specific requirements such as halal for the Muslim population and kosher for Jewish residents.

“When we were called as a stake presidency, we really had this impression that that mandate to care for those in need is very explicit,” President Larsen said. “It doesn’t say care for the members in need. It says care for those in need, and we just felt like there is no way that we will be able to fulfill that on our own.”

President Larsen said his stake collaborates with other organizations — faith-based, nonprofit and community groups — who also work to care for those in need. Many members of his stake were volunteering at JFS regularly for years, “so it was a natural fit for us to say, maybe we can do more and expand on this,” he said.

Jen Walker, the stake Relief Society president, said Jewish Family Services has served Washtenaw County and Ann Arbor for more than 30 years, and she is grateful to work with them in their efforts.

“As we work together, our collective reach and impact are expanded,” she said.

Walker said women in the global Relief Society organization have been invited to follow the example of the Savior and help bring needed relief to others.

“While the Church has many opportunities to provide relief on a global scale, there are countless ways we can help in our own communities,” she said. “The great news is we’re not expected to do it alone. In fact, there is such joy that comes from working with other incredible organizations who are also striving to make a difference.”

Larsen said representatives from the stake and JFS have spoken together as well about other services and resources they both can provide for the community — especially when it comes to building self-reliance. BYU–Pathway Worldwide and the Church’s self-reliance classes such as Education for Better Work or Find a Better Job or EnglishConnect are examples of ways that people can improve their lives.

“We offer classes that anybody could attend and that invite people into our chapels and give them a chance to get to know us better but also just to build the community,” Larsen said.

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