CLINTON TOWNSHIP (WXYZ) — Forgotten Harvest is working to expand food distribution sites in Macomb County, which the nonprofit says is currently underserved compared to neighboring Oakland and Wayne counties.
The organization currently operates 27 distribution sites in Macomb County, while the remaining 193 are spread across Oakland and Wayne counties.
Kelli Kaschimer, director of client services at Forgotten Harvest, said census data drove the decision to prioritize the area.
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"Using census information, it identified Macomb County as an area we were currently underserving," Kaschimer said.
Kaschimer said food access is a significant challenge throughout the county.
"There's food deserts all through Macomb County, where families might not have access to affordable groceries," Kaschimer said.
Forgotten Harvest is in talks with Selfridge to open a distribution site for military families and is also looking to expand to townships and cities north of 23 Mile Road — an area Kaschimer described as having limited pantry representation in the nonprofit's network.
"Where we currently don't have a lot of representation from pantries in our network," Kaschimer said.
Conquerors Church in Clinton Township is one of the newest distribution sites to join the effort. The church partnered with Forgotten Harvest earlier this summer, and its team distributes food to local families each week — everything from Pop-Tarts to fresh produce and protein.
Reverend Sam Moore, senior pastor at Conquerors Church, said the need in the community is impossible to ignore.
"The struggle is real all across this country and especially right here in Macomb County," Moore said.
Moore said the volume of need is what motivated the church to act.
"These types of needs are being presented to us on a daily basis, if there's ever a need for more services, more partnerships, that need is right now," Moore said.
Tikkiya Carter, whose family of 5 relies on Forgotten Harvest, said she picked up food in Roseville and welcomed the prospect of more locations.
"Many people need help in different areas, so if they put it in different places, that'll be great," Carter said.
Carter also pushed back on misconceptions about who uses food assistance.
"No, it's not homeless people, it's plenty of people in need of food," Carter said.
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