Food Pantry Visits Continue to Rise

Northern Michigan pantries face uphill climb in the fight against food insecurity

While northern Michigan makes headlines as a top foodie destination, the number of locals struggling to access affordable, nutritious meals is simultaneously growing. 

According to Feeding America’s 2025 Map the Meal Gap study, food insecurity in Grand Traverse County rose from 10.7 percent of the population in 2021 to 13.5 percent in 2023. In nearby Benzie, the increase was even bigger, climbing from 10.9 percent to 14.7 percent over that same period.

The reasons won’t come as a surprise. Groceries, housing costs, and utilities have all ballooned, while wages have stagnated for a lot of folks, leaving more and more households operating within tight margins.

Last summer, Northern Express spoke with area pantries and nonprofits about how those rapidly rising costs plus changes to food and health benefits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and the potential resulting coverage loss could widen that “meal gap” (the answer was quite a bit). This spring, we checked back in to find out where they’re seeing the most need and how their communities can help. 

Here’s what they said.

Pantry Usage Is on the Rise (Again)

National data may trail by a couple of years, but NoMi leaders say that food insecurity numbers are still rising. 

Between the summer of 2024 and summer 2025, pantry programs within the Northwest Food Coalition saw an average 6 percent increase in use, according to coordinator Rachael Cougler. The Coalition—made up of roughly 70 food pantries, emergency meal sites, and baby pantries, including Project Feed the Kids and the Father Fred Foundation—serves Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau counties.

Across those sites, more than 129,000 meals were distributed last year, along with staple groceries like milk, eggs, bread, and fresh produce.

Some counties are able to cover more ground than others though. Grand Traverse County has over two dozen sites, while more rural areas struggle to stretch their resources across the miles. Over in Kalkaska, the Coalition is finding that with only six member sites in place, the need is quickly outpacing resource availability. 

“There are fewer organizations that are having to support both their local communities and surrounding communities,” Cougler explains.

Kalkaska Area Interfaith Resources (KAIR) is one of them. The organization provides hot meals through its Ladles of Love program, along with help for utilities and other basic needs. Over the past five years, demand for its services has climbed by 44 percent.

Executive Director Cathy Somes saw it coming. Last summer, she told Northern Express that changes to federal programs like SNAP would likely make it harder for families to keep up with everyday costs. Now, Somes says that indeed, “Families have experienced reduced benefits, and in some cases lost benefits altogether.”

Even for those still receiving assistance, higher grocery prices mean those benefits don’t go nearly as far, pushing more households to lean on pantry support to keep food on the table. Likewise, people who’ve never had to rely on assistance in the past are finding it necessary to make ends meet these days.

“Last year we served more people than we have in the past eight years,” says Somes. And based on the steady stream of new families walking through KAIR’s doors in 2026, that demand isn’t letting up anytime soon.

Run by 30 volunteers, The Elk Rapids Community Cupboard Food Pantry in Antrim is another rural site where visits are surging. Operating out of First Presbyterian Church, the pantry serves the Elk Rapids area with both food and personal care items, delivering groceries when needed and making sure residents without transportation aren’t left out.

Despite serving a small community, “Our usage increased by 76 percent since October 2024,” says President Pam Coleman.

The Challenges Are Getting Bigger

One thing nearly every pantry notes is that their volunteer base (which totals hundreds across the Coalition)  is made up of rockstars who go above and beyond to show up for their neighbors in need. 

But as usage increases, so does the discovery of new challenges, like the need for interpretative services most pantries aren’t yet set up for, or more frequent furloughs creating sudden jumps in food demand that doesn’t always line up with supply.

Unsurprisingly, this winter was one of the biggest wildcards over the last year, with the barrage of bad weather delaying deliveries, snowing-in volunteers, and making it difficult for people to access food sites. This last March storm, which resulted in the State Police shutting down several roads, forced NMC’s regularly scheduled mobile food pantry, which is open to the entire community, later into the month. When it finally happened, organizer Cathy Warner says the turnout was way higher than expected, bringing 144 households—totaling 439 individuals, including 185 children—through the line.

“We were out of food with 20 minutes left,” says Warner. “We budget for 75 to 110 families.”

Since November, though, those numbers have consistently come in higher, at more like 140-150 families.

Warner also oversees NMC’s student pantry in the Osterlin building, where she’s seeing more multigenerational families coming through.

“Our students are in the ‘sandwich’ generation, taking care of both their children and parents at the same time,” she says, noting that the most popular items among those busy students are snacks like yogurt, apples, oranges, and Poptarts that can be eaten on the go. 

In the future, Warner hopes to expand the mobile pantry’s reach into surrounding counties, including Leelanau. That’s where, just a skip and hop from luxe wineries and seasonal homes, Mary Stanton says year-rounders are finding it harder to make ends meet each year. 

As executive director of the nonprofit Leelanau Christian Neighbors, Stanton sees an average of 150 families, many of them newcomers, each week. “We distribute flour, sugar, and oil once a month, and those days tend to be our busiest,” she notes.  

Empty Bowls for Full Bellies

If more folks need more food, then it only stands to reason that pantries need more funding to buy that food. The Coalition receives that funding through a mix of private donations and government grants. But with some of the grants they’ve traditionally relied on disappearing over the last year, monetary donations are becoming even more important. 

One way the community can help is by showing up for the Northwest Food Coalition’s annual Empty Bowls fundraiser, set for 11am to 2pm on Sunday, May 3, at Howe Arena inside Traverse City’s Civic Center. 

“The goal of the Empty Bowls event is twofold,” says Cougler. First, it raises money.

Each year, the event brings in about $50,000 for The Coalition’s Farm2Neighbor Fund, which buys fresh produce and protein from local farms for distribution through pantries and meal sites. Ticket sales (which are $29 in advance, $35 at the door, and free for children under 16 with a ticketed adult) plus event sponsorships are “critically important” and make up about 17 percent of the annual funding needed for those purchases.

The second goal is awareness, making sure more people understand just how widespread food insecurity is Up North.

Attendees will get to choose a handmade bowl created by local artisans to take home and will sample soups from 17 local vendors. There will also be artisan bread, desserts, and beverages provided plus a DJ, photo booth, bowl-making demonstrations, popcorn, and a bazaar full of donated goods to shop.

Are you facing food insecurity? Visit northwestmifoodcoalition.org/food-pantries to find resources near you.

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