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About Forgotten Harvest
Forgotten Harvest has been serving the metro Detroit region for over three decades, evolving year over year to better meet the needs of our community. As one of the largest food rescue organizations in the nation, Forgotten Harvest has a lot of moving parts. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about who we are, what we do, how to receive assistance, and how you can help in the fight against food insecurity:
We are dedicated to relieving hunger and preventing nutritious food waste.
Forgotten Harvest is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to relieving hunger by rescuing and redistributing surplus food in metro Detroit. We partner with more than 560 food donors across all points of the food supply chain to rescue surplus food, or the food grown or produced in excess of the consumer demand for or ability to purchase it.
The rescued food is then taken directly to our network of over 220 community feeding agencies for free distribution, or brought back to our Distribution Center to be sorted and repacked before Forgotten Harvest trucks deliver it to our partner agencies. On a continual basis, our Distribution Center and Client Services teams are working to fully identify the needs of our individual agency partners to best meet the needs of those they serve.
All food is rescued, delivered, and distributed free of charge.
Forgotten Harvest proudly serves the tri-county area of metro Detroit. We have free food distributions six days a week throughout the City of Detroit and Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland counties.
Please use our Find Food page to find the distributions nearest you and follow us on social media for updates on closures or other changes to daily schedules.
Forgotten Harvest food distributions are open to the public and can be accessed by anyone regardless of their socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, religious belief, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, age, marital status, family or parental status, political viewpoints or other ideologies, or military or veteran status.
Basic information including names, household size and composition, and street address is requested at all distributions but we will not turn anyone away for not providing this information.
You can receive food by attending any Forgotten Harvest-supported mobile or brick-and-mortar pantry. Please use our Find Food page to find the distribution nearest you.
Distributions will designate a certain amount of the provided food for each person depending on their household size. If it’s your first time collecting food, please be sure to provide an accurate count of your household. If you’ve used our services before but have had a change to the count of your household, please let the intake volunteers know that you need more or less.
Yes! And thank you! If you’re interested in hosting a food drive on behalf of Forgotten Harvest, please contact Jeff Diggs at jdiggs@forgottenharvest.org or 248-268-7777 to receive a Forgotten Harvest collection bin. You are also welcome to collect food in another manner and deliver it to our Distribution Center at 15000 W. Eight Mile Rd., Oak Park, MI from 9 am to 2 pm on weekdays. Enter the rear lot using the second driveway off of Hubbell. Use the first dock door (ground level) and check in with someone in the Receiving Area.
If you’re interested in “hosting” a Virtual Food Drive on behalf of Forgotten Harvest, please contact Sydney Johnson at sjohnson@forgottenharvest.org to set up an online giving page associated with your food drive. This format allows those passionate about fighting hunger in our community to donate both food items and monetary donations; every $10 donated allows Forgotten Harvest to provide $70 worth of groceries for our neighbors!
Yes, all items can be dropped off at our Distribution Center at 15000 W. Eight Mile Rd., Oak Park, MI on weekdays between 9 am and 2 pm. Enter the rear lot using the second driveway off of Hubbell. Use the first dock door (ground level) and check in with someone in the Receiving Area.
Please note: food donation items must be unexpired, undamaged, unopened, and labeled with nutritional information. No glass items, please.
Non-perishable food items we need include:
- Peanut, almond, and cashew butter (especially reduced-sodium and low-sugar)
- Canned soup, chili, pasta, and stew (especially reduced-sodium)
- Canned vegetables and beans (especially reduced-sodium and water-packed)
- Pasta, barely, and rice
- Pasta sauce or canned tomatoes (especially reduced-sodium and low-sugar)
- Canned fruit (especially 100% fruit or lite-syrup-packed)
- Dried beans, peas, and lentils
- Whole-grain cereal (especially unsweetened and low-sugar)
- Oatmeal and cream of wheat
- Nutritious snacks like dried fruits, nuts, trail mix, and granola bars
As a nonprofit organization, Forgotten Harvest receives funding from several sources, including generous individuals, corporations and organizations, foundations, and government.
93% of our charitable resources are used in direct programs and services that feed metro Detroiters in need.
Forgotten Harvest has been fighting food insecurity in the metro Detroit area for more than 30 years. In that time, we’ve learned a lot about the transient nature of hunger and the need for fluidity and co-creation in designing solutions to it.
We partner with more than 220 community organizations that provide emergency food assistance to metro Detroiters, meaning they work on the front lines in the fight against food insecurity. They know what they need for success, so we actively seek their feedback and evaluation through regular contact with our Client Services Team, discussions with a dedicated Agency/Pantry Advisory Council of ten partner agency representatives, and an annual Agency Conference for all network partners. Forgotten Harvest also created an Agency Capacity Grant Program to invest in our partners’ work and make it easier for them to serve our neighbors.
One of our top priorities continues to be investing in the dignity and unique care of those accessing our services. Our new Client Choice Mobile Markets have been designed to allow our neighbors to select the best food for themselves and their families as if grocery shopping, rather than receiving a pre-selected assortment of food. We’ve also developed targeted programs like Healthy Food Healthy Kids, Healthy Food Healthy Seniors, and our Veteran Support Program to directly support metro Detroit’s most vulnerable populations.
Our supplemental services are here for anyone who needs them, whenever needed, for however long that may be. We’re dedicated to creating a stronger, healthier metro Detroit, and we will always be here to offer a hand-up when you could use one.
There are many ways you can get involved with Forgotten Harvest’s mission! Lend your time and skills at any of our year-round volunteering opportunities; you can help sort and repack food in our distribution center, complete your own food rescue route as a Harvest Hero, distribute food to neighbors at our FH on the Go mobile pantries, or try out your green thumb at Forgotten Harvest Farms.
Monetary donations are one of the best ways you can support Forgotten Harvest. We’ve streamlined our operations so that every $1 of your donation provides $7 worth of groceries or enough food for four meals. We make it easy to donate online, or you can mail a check donation payable to “Forgotten Harvest” to Attn: Donor Relations, 15000 W. Eight Mile Rd., Oak Park, MI 48237.
Consider inviting a Forgotten Harvest representative to your workplace, civic or faith-based group, school, or other institution to spread the word about the fight against food insecurity and how others can get involved.
DIY a fundraising event! Think change-jar collections, Facebook Fundraisers, ice cream socials, bake sales — have fun with it!
Be a Forgotten Harvest ambassador and share your passion for ending hunger throughout your circles. It takes a community to feed a community and every voice helps.
