Faith-based health centers urge council for emergency food funding as demand surges

Representatives of Flint-area community health centers told the City Council that recent cuts in partner funding have produced a sharp increase in demand for emergency food assistance and asked the council for help funding operations through 2026.

Sandra Jones and other center leaders said the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan provided authenticated figures showing a 17.4% overall food insecurity rate in the county, affecting about 70,490 people, and that certain Flint zip codes (48503, 48507, 48505) have child food-insecurity rates reported between 47% and 57%. The centers said a $10,000 allotment from a partner was insufficient and that increased truck, food and payroll costs now require roughly $56,000 per center per year (about $224,000 for four centers) to sustain weekly distributions.

During a follow-up special-order presentation, council members asked whether centers verify recipients’ residency and zip codes; the centers said they collect zip codes and can require identification (they noted such verification was used during the water-crisis distribution years). Council members also noted ARPA rules limit some uses of funds to Flint residents and asked the finance chair to calculate available ARPA and other sources to determine whether the council can equitably support all centers.

Council members pledged to gather budget information and said they would seek an equitable approach. No final appropriation was made at the meeting; council asked staff to return with figures and options.

Quote: “We’re in a dire need at the moment to be able to feed the residents of the city of Flint,” a center representative said, describing a 30%–40% increase in foot traffic. The council added about 10 minutes to the presentation to hear detailed needs and left next steps to staff review.