Grand Valley State University Women's Center

Food Resources for GVSU Students in Kent and Ottawa Counties

While the GVSU Student Food Pantry strives to supply students with an emergency supply of food, there are community resources available that will help supplement the items received at the Student Food Pantry. Here are a few options relevant to the GVSU student community:

  1. 211 of Ottawa or Kent County: 211 is a free information and referral service that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 211 can be dialed directly from any landline. Cell phone users seeking services in Kent County should call 616-459-2255. Cell phone users seeking services in Ottawa County should call 877-211-5253. Once connected to an operator, you can ask about food resources in the respective county. You can also find out the schedule of mobile food pantries in the area.
  2. Eastern Avenue Reformed Church: EARC distributes food at 7:00am on Saturday mornings. Bags of food cost between $2 and $5 dollars. EARC can be reached at 616-454-4888.
  3. Booth Family Services: Booth Family Services is open every day between 1:30 and 3:15pm. If you are not a Kent County resident, you may receive food only once. BFS provides a 2-3 day supply of emergency food. The phone number for BFS is 616-459-2255 and you can access their website by clicking here.
  4. Love, INC.: Love, INC is located in Allendale and can be reached at 616-895-5683. If you wish to receive assistance, you must meet once with a counselor from the organization. To visit Love, INC's website, please click here.
  5. Department of Human Services: You may qualify to receive assistance through the Food Assistance Program. For more information on eligibility requirements and the application process, please click here.
  6. Angel Food Ministries: Angel Food Ministries allows you to purchase food at a discounted rate. There are no eligibility requirements to use this service. Food boxes can be ordered toward the beginning of the month and then are delivered a few weeks later. Boxes typically cost $30, however the contents total more than $65. One box can feed a family of four for 1 week or a single person for 1 month. The menu changes every month. AFM participates in the Food Stamp Program. There are various distribution sites in Ottawa and Kent Counties. For more information on this program, to look at the current menu, and to find the nearest distribution site, please click here.
  7. Great Food For All: Great Food For All purchases restaurant quality food from various national and regional suppliers through their partner in St. Louis, Missouri. This food is packaged and shipped to host sites for delivery to customers. The nearest host site is located at NE COMMUNITY NAZARENE, 861 Fuller Ave. NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503. For more information, please click here.

If you are aware of other food resources in the community that would be helpful to GVSU students, please email the Women's Center at womenctr@gvsu.edu. Also, if you utilize any of the listed resources, we would love to hear your feedback. Please e-mail the Women's Center or call us at 616.331.2748.

Page last modified June 22, 2010