KENTWOOD, Mich. — Feeding America West Michigan has opened its doors to its new headquarters in Kentwood. The new facility allows the nonprofit to better serve and distribute 37.5 million meals annually to their 40-county service area.
The new headquarters will allow the company to better serve Michiganders who face food insecurity.
“The need has increased,” Ken Estelle, CEO of Feeding America West Michigan, said. “If you look back from like 2021 probably we've seen almost a 50% increase in the number, not just the number of people coming, but the number of times that people come to access food from the charitable food industry.”
In 2024, Feeding America West Michigan saw a 14.8% increase in community members partaking in mobile food panthers. A majority of them requested food assistance for the first time in their lives.
“We've seen, especially in the last several years, is a really growing need, and I think driven a lot from just the cost of what it takes to have basic needs,” he said. “Not just only the cost of food, but rent, childcare, utilities, all of those things. And so what we've seen is more and more people exhausting their savings or even maxing out credit cards, and getting to the point where the only option they have is to be able to come to charitable food organizations for help.”
Feeding America West Michigan’s new chapter begins Wednesday as the organization hosts a ribbon-cutting ceremony, revealing their new space.
The $6.6 million facility purchase and $13 million renovation was made possible through donations from supporters, Meijer and the Kent County Board of Commissioners.