Stories & updates
Case notes, seasonal reports and the occasional plain accounting of what a month of this work looks like.
Two growers in Eaton County committed surplus to the Tuesday distribution through October. In the first four weeks it meant 1,900 additional pounds of fresh vegetables leaving the building — and a genuine logistics headache we were glad to have. We added a second refrigerator, donated by a Lansing restaurant that closed in May.
A household came to us for a $300 electricity arrear. The arrear was paid. More importantly, the screening at the kitchen table found an unclaimed Home Heating Credit and a SNAP amount calculated on outdated income — together worth roughly $1,700 across the year. The grant solved the week; the paperwork solved the year.
Spring orientation filled twice over. Rather than take everyone at once, we capped the cohort at twelve so that each new volunteer could shadow properly. Growing faster than we can train is how conferences quietly lose their standards, and we have seen it happen elsewhere.
612 coats, 340 pairs of boots, 480 blankets, 96 space heaters checked for safety before distribution. Fifteen households were reached through school referrals who had never contacted us before — which is the number we actually care about.
A short monthly email: what we spent, what we still need, and one story told with permission. No fundraising pressure, no third-party sharing.
