Quick Facts
	SOS Emergency Food Pantry Address:   114 N. River   Ypsilanti, MI 48198 Phone: 734.484.4300 Fax: 734.485.8739 EMERGENCY FOOD HOURS   T, 10 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.   W, 6 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. HOUSING CRISIS LINE:   734.484.4300   M-F, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Walk-In Hours:   M, Tu, Th, F: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.   W: 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. Christina Oliver, Emergency Food Distribution Worker, and Kevin Robertson, SOS AmeriCorps member, unload a new shipment of donated food. Two young volunteers prepare to work in the food pantry garden.

Emergency Food Pantry

Food Distribution Hours

• Tuesdays, 10 a.m - 12:45 p.m.
• Wednesdays, 6 p.m. - 7:45 p.m.
• Other times as resources & staffing permit

SOS distributes emergency food every Tuesday and Wednesday.  SOS also assists consumers in accessing other community food resources.

Each consumer receives a food bag containing one day's allotment of food (three meals) for each person in the household. This service is offered to each consumer up to four times per year (three times plus one holiday). During the Thanksgiving holiday, food bags include turkeys as available.

Some highlights from our 2005-06 fiscal year:

• Staff responded to 1,730 requests for food assistance
• 41% of those receiving emergency food assistance belonged to families with children
• 50% of those receiving emergency food assistance were children

Our Partners

  Food Gatherers  SOS is proud to partner with Food Gatherers, Washtenaw County's food bank and food rescue organization. Food Gatherers brings regular shipments of surplus and donated food (both fresh and non-perishable) to SOS for distribution through our Emergency Food Pantry.

Family Nutrition Program  SOS works with the Family Nutrition Program at the MSU Extension in Washtenaw County to offer a cooking class as part of our Emergency Food Program. Peter di Lorenzi, Program Associate with the Family Nutrition Program, helps with the classes, showing consumers how to cook inexpensive yet nutritious meals, using the kinds of food SOS typically distributes. Each cooking session is two hours long, and there are four sessions per class with an average of eight participants. The participants receive a bag of groceries for each session they attend and, upon completing the class, receive a Certificate of Achievement plus a $10 gift certificate from a local grocery store. SOS also arranges for childcare during and transportation to and from class.

Growing Hope  With assistance from Growing Hope, SOS maintains a community garden at the SOS Crisis Center. The SOS garden features a variety of vegetables, including zucchini, carrots, greens and tomatoes. SOS distributes the produce through the Emergency Food Pantry.