This food bank feeds humans and wolves alike
A Michigan food bank supplies farms and animal sanctuaries with food it can't use. 'We鈥檙e not taking food away from people, but we鈥檙e keeping it out of the trash,' says one animal shelter founder.
Two captive wolves are seen in a wildlife park in Saint Martin Vesubie, France. In Michigan, unusable food donated to a food bank for humans is shared with animal sanctuaries, including one that cares for 27 wolves.
Eric Gaillard/Reuters/File
Brenda Pearson lives in Muskegon, Michigan, with her husband, Jim, and a menagerie of 27 wolves, nine miniature donkeys, seven horses, two coatimundis, two African servals, one lynx, one kinkajou, a savannah cat, and an assortment of chickens.
She is the founder of , a 34-acre refuge for abandoned, abused, and relinquished animals. Jim helps fund it from his paycheck working at a defense contractor, and there are some private donations from animal lovers. It costs about $30,000 a year to run the sanctuary, and half of that money goes toward animal feed.
When Pearson heard that the food bank donates expired and unusable food, she approached the organization to ask if it could help feed her animals.
鈥淚鈥檓 very frugal, but still, feeding the wolves and other animals is expensive,鈥� she said. 鈥淔eeding America initially delivered a pickup truck load of food each week. Now we get a 16-foot trailer every week, and that鈥檚 a savings of $15,000 a year for us.鈥�
In Michigan, it鈥檚 illegal to own wolves and wolf dogs. But despite the law, 鈥減eople think it鈥檚 cool to keep wolves,鈥� Pearson said. 鈥淭hey think, 鈥業鈥檓 going to walk down the street with my wolf, and everyone will be impressed.鈥� But they are high maintenance.鈥�
Many of the animals come to her because people鈥檚 circumstances change鈥攁 divorce, a foreclosure, seizures by animal control and the IRS, and court decisions about neglected or abused animals can all lead to wolves ending up on Pearson鈥檚 doorstep.
The food donations help lift some of the financial burden of running the sanctuary, so now Pearson only has to buy hay and dry dog food鈥攖he wolves also eat kibble, aside from the donated meat.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not taking food away from people, but we鈥檙e keeping it out of the trash,鈥� she said.
Feeding America West Michigan pioneered the idea of diverting food headed for landfills, a practice that is now being 聽around the country.
The innovative food bank feeds half a million people spread across more than half the state, from western Michigan to the Upper Peninsula. The large number is a testament to the local economic conditions.
鈥淚n Michigan and in the Upper Peninsula, we鈥檝e struggled economically for a couple decades聽,鈥� said Andrew Steiner of Feeding America West Michigan. 鈥淯nemployment is above the national average, and even those employed are underemployed, so they don鈥檛 have enough to sustain their families.鈥�
Steiner explained that it used to be hard for food banks to accept donations of perishable food. By the time it was received, inventoried, and parceled out to agencies such as soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and other programs, it would spoil.
So the food bank decided to bypass the distribution network and take the fruits and vegetables directly to people, with trucks that act as mobile food pantries.
鈥淲e get produce in the morning, load it on trucks by midday, and give it to families the same afternoon,鈥� Steiner said. 鈥淭his opened up opportunities to take a lot more produce from farmers and redistribute it the same day.鈥�
Food banks across the country began to adopt the practice the same way Feeding America West Michigan鈥檚 food-recycling program eventually caught on.
Five cattle and pig farmers have partnered with the food bank to receive food that is not fit for human consumption. They use it as animal feed, and what cannot be used is , a practice Pearson follows as well.
Steiner said the food bank received 28 million pounds of food last year and distributed all but 1.5 million pounds, which were either expired, spoiled, or had packaging that was ripped open.
鈥淚t鈥檚 what happens when working with large volumes of food,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut we want to treat all the food we get with respect because there鈥檚 a lot of time, money, and effort that goes into producing this food. So we want it to be put to good use.鈥�
So far this year, Pearson鈥檚 animal sanctuary and the farmers have received about 194,000 pounds of waste food, which amounts to 75 percent of the food bank鈥檚 waste. Steiner says the food bank has been getting calls from others wanting to partner with it.
鈥淚 visited a cattle rancher with about 30 cattle, and he takes our stale bread for his cows because it鈥檚 grain-based, so he saves about 50 percent on his feed costs,鈥� he said.
The partnership works both ways. The savings are not just for the farmers or Pearson鈥檚 animal sanctuary. The food bank has to pay about $50,000 in landfill costs each year, the bulk of which goes toward renting dumpsters to collect the waste food, which are then hauled away.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 money saved that can be used to feed people. It鈥檚 enough to distribute 200,000 meals to people in need,鈥� Steiner said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the right thing to do, it鈥檚 good for our mission, and it鈥檚 good for the farmers. But there is a financial benefit too since we save money.鈥�
He said the program doesn鈥檛 take any extra effort either because volunteers already sort the produce, meat, and other food and toss what can鈥檛 be used into special bins. So all the food bank has to do is load its trucks with the bins and deliver them to its partners.
It鈥檚 an avenue that other animal sanctuaries should explore as well, Pearson said.
鈥淔rom week to week, we don鈥檛 know what food we鈥檙e going to get. I don鈥檛 have walk-in coolers, so in the winter, we have a small building that acts as our freezer, and we hope we don鈥檛 get a sudden thaw,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n the summer, we use 14 fridges and freezers to keep it cold. Our electric bill is huge, but the benefit far outweighs the expense, so it鈥檚 well worth it.鈥�
鈥� Padma Nagappan is a multimedia journalist who writes about the environment, renewable energy, sustainability, agriculture, and biotechnology.
鈥� at , a leading source of socially relevant news, features, opinion, entertainment, and information 鈥� all focused on the issues that shape our lives. Visit .