Greater Lansing Food Bank & HAP CareSource Announce Gift to Support Mobile Food Distribution

LANSING, Michigan (HAP CareSource) – Michiganders in rural and underserved areas are getting new nutrition support thanks to a $65,000 contribution to the Greater Lansing Food Bank from HAP CareSource. The donation is another step forward in the ongoing partnership between the two groups. 

HAP CareSource provides health care coverage to Medicaid-eligible people in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula and is a joint-venture between HAP, a Michigan-based nonprofit health plan, and CareSource, a nationally recognized managed care organization.

“Rural communities make up 63% of all U.S counties, but 87% of counties with the highest food insecurity rates,” said Kelly Miller, chief development officer at Greater Lansing Food Bank. “The investment from HAP CareSource will allow the Greater Lansing Food Bank to continue innovating with our mobile food pantry program to remove barriers for people in rural communities that don’t have consistent access to food resources.”

“Addressing emergency food needs in the Greater Lansing area is an example of the extraordinary service and support that the Greater Lansing Food Bank provides to the community,” said Sarah Musser, vice president of operations, Michigan market at HAP CareSource. “HAP CareSource looks forward to continuing to work with the Food Bank team to support those in need.”

Greater Lansing Food Bank works with more than 140 community partners to provide weekly mobile food distributions throughout the seven mid-Michigan counties of Clare, Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Isabella and Shiawassee. These community partners meet directly with the nonprofit's mid-Michigan neighbors and families to provide nutritious food and combat food insecurity across the region. Mobile distributions are ensured for anyone in need of food throughout Greater Lansing Food Bank’s service areas.

In 2023, 16,900 households across mid-Michigan sought out Greater Lansing Food Bank services each month ― a record number. With inflation impacting nearly every aspect of the cost of living and the very last of pandemic-related benefits expired, low-income families are spending more than 30 percent of their monthly budgets on food. As more families turn toward the Food Bank, it is working to remove obstacles to accessing nutritious food, through opportunities such as the mobile food pantries, to help community members of all ages. Each month, Greater Lansing runs 15 to 20 mobile food pantry distributions, with at least one in every county they serve. Together, these mobiles provide food to 4,500 households monthly.

For more information about Greater Lansing Food Bank, visit https://greaterlansingfoodbank.org/.