LELAND — When life gives you bananas, what do you do?
Michelle White made banana bread (and smoothies, muffins and more.)
White, the co-founder of 5Loaves2Fish NMI, was forced to get creative after receiving box after box of bunches of the fruit; she found every possible way to use them up, including storing containers of frozen mashed fruit for future use.
“We live off of food rescue. Whenever we get influxes of things, we try to do everything we can,” White said, detailing the creative ways she’d dealt with a load of sweet potatoes in the past. The nonprofit, which aims to be as resourceful and zero-waste-producing as possible, donates any perished or unusable produce to a local pig farm.
The organization formed in 2019, housed in the Leland Community United Methodist Church, was founded by White and her husband, Bill.
“We had this vision and we were working at doing a community meal or something, but it just wasn’t keeping traction for whatever reason — mostly because I think people don’t understand food insecurity,” she explained.
Their mission became apparent shortly thereafter alongside the stark beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I knew a girl that had experienced homelessness and she called and said, ‘you need to do something, meal sites are shutting down and people are starving,’” White said.
To meet that first need, White gathered with a friend to make meals out of food recently acquired after a large fundraiser. The girl she knew distributed those meals to those she knew were in need, and thus their efforts began.
“We thought it was a COVID emergency response. We were just following what we thought we needed to do and then the demand continued to grow and the idea of having more meal sites became something that we just felt that we needed to do,” she said.
5Loaves2FishNMI now serves ten meal sites, including populations across Veterans Park and Safe Harbor, as well as meals across the county and a Tuesday-evening community meal at the church. In 2023, the organization served almost 23,000 meals, with an average of 400-550 meals served or distributed each week. With only three paid employees among a small backboard of five passionate members, the team is grateful for a strong volunteer base that allows them to continue giving back.
While the organization runs a small pantry that is open to the public during their hours, 5Loaves2Fish is unique in its efforts to not only have fresh, typically from-scratch meals available for those in need, but in bringing it to those in need directly.
“There’s a conception that it’s not necessary, but it is,” White said. “We try our best to really serve people. Sometimes people will say, ‘well, can’t they just pick up their own tray?’ Yes, they can. But they’ve been pulling themselves up all day long while society is basically spitting on them.”
White is passionate about advocating against the negative misconceptions surrounding food insecurity and unhoused populations.
“There’s a lot of stigma around all of this. People are working two, three, four jobs. They’re trying to do the best they can. It’s not the old get a job thing. It’s really expensive to live. We try really hard to educate and strip away the stigma of laziness or drug addiction,” she said. “I heard once, and I think this is one of the best statements I ever heard — if alcohol and drugs caused homelessness, there would be a whole lot more homeless people.”
Their volunteer base fluctuates seasonally, and the team is always open to accepting support, whether in the form of hands-on help or financial donations.
“Time, talent and treasure is our bread and butter,” White said.
“Food is the vehicle, but love is the message.”
With the three T’s to fall back on, a passion for advocacy and service, and a sense of culinary creativity, 5Loaves2Fish looks forward to continuing to intervene in local food insecurity.
For those interested in getting involved or learning more, visit their website at https://www.5loaves2fishnmi.org/.