Food Policy Council

The Food Policy Council is working to increase consumption, accessibility, and affordability of healthy foods among county residents. The council has begun identifying organizations working within the food system and asset mapping of healthy eating resources in Oakland County. Results will support developing a food resource directory and guide the future actions of the Food Policy Council.

Council Initiatives

Conduct a thorough assessment of the food system in Oakland County.
Promote and develop local resources to help people access healthy foods.
Prioritize the Community Health Improvement Plan suggested actions for implementation and expansion.

Response to COVID-19

Unanticipated School Closure Feeding Sites

School districts and sponsors are providing meals through the end of the school year. Michigan Department of Education has a map of participating schools and sites to pick-up meals for school-aged children. https://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/schoolnutrition/
Oakland Schools has compiled a list of school meal programs during COVID-19.

Gleaners Community Food Bank

Gleaners continues to serve those in need. They continue to work with partner pantries and are expanding food distribution efforts to include additional drive-up mobile sites in Oakland and surrounding counties. Community distribution sites occur weekly at multiple locations and will be added regularly to their website. Please call a pantry location call ahead of time in case an appointment or paperwork may be necessary.

Forgotten Harvest

Forgotten Harvest updates its website daily with the most current list of active distribution sites receiving its food. Forgotten Harvest urges a household to check with listed agencies for any last minute changes before going to an agency distribution site.

Pandemic EBT

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services recently announced a new program: Pandemic EBT. The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Program (P-EBT) program provides temporary funding to address emergency food needs for families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
P-EBT food assistance benefits will go to Michigan families with students ages 5-18 that are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. This includes families currently receiving Food Assistance Program benefits, as well as those not currently enrolled in the program. No application is necessary for eligible families to receive P-EBT benefits.

SNAP Assistance

Gov. Whitmer and MDHHS announced expanded emergency SNAP benefits on March 27, 2020. Eligible households will receive additional benefits for March and April to bring all households using SNAP to the maximum monthly allowance. This change only applies to those who are not receiving the maximum benefit right now. Eligible households should already see benefits on their Bridge Card for March. For April, clients will see their benefits issued on their typical day and then the additional benefits will be issued the next calendar day. Here is the link to MDHHS press release regarding additional SNAP benefits.
Food Bank Council of Michigan has informational flyers about the emergency allotments that can be shared.

COVID-19_FAP Emergency Allotment_March and April Flyer (English)
COVID-19_FAP Emergency Allotment_March and April Flyer (Arabic)
COVID-19_FAP Emergency Allotment_March and April Flyer (Spanish)

Community and Faith-Based Organizations

Alist of community and faith-based organizations that are providing meals, groceries, and other food-related support during this time. (Resource List in Spanish)

Special Grocery Store Hours

Here is alist of stores that have special hours reserved for high-risk groups.

**This is an evolving situation. Information/resources will be updated as available on the OC Health Division website. Our Nurse on Call is also available at 800-848-5533, Monday through Friday, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, or noc@oakgov.com.**