YMCA Healthy Living Mobile Kitchen - COVID-19 Feeding Commitment

From March 2020 to August 2021, The Healthy Living Mobile Kitchen Bus visited locations throughout the Lansing community and served over 359,714 free meals to kids to help combat food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I had a full time job at a fast food restaurant and my husband is a school bus driver. We both got laid off at the same time. We have four kids and we are not sure what we are going to do. Knowing we can get food from the YMCA will help use the money we do have for other needs until we can get this figured out. Thank you so much for being here," - Samantha

How to Donate

The YMCA of Metropolitan Lansing Food Program is actively improving lives. But we can’t do it without your help. A commitment to support the YMCA Metropolitan Lansing ensures that we are able to continue offering services in the Lansing area.

Every dollar makes a difference. Your gift will ensure that the Y continues to make our community a better place to live, grow, and thrive.

To Donate Online: Please click the link below to make your donation. Please select the YMCA of Metro Lansing as the location.

Click Here to Donate

Healthy Living Mobile Kitchen Food Program

The YMCA of Lansing understands that hunger is a reality for many children and families in the tri-county area. In fact, nearly 1 in 4 Michigan children go to bed hungry every night.

That’s why we’re continuing to build on our community feeding programs that have been in place since 2011. In 2016, we launched the Healthy Living Mobile Kitchen. The mobile kitchen is a 54 passenger, handicap accessible bus that was donated by Kellie Dean, president of Dean Transportation. It has been retrofit with a demonstration kitchen which will serve meals to children year-round in partnership with the Lansing School District’s food vendor SodexoMAGIC and the Greater Lansing Food Bank.

The mobile kitchen will also distribute fresh foods and non-perishable items in neighborhoods throughout the tri-county area. The bus also provides education to children, providing valuable hands-on education about preparing seasonal food, reading labels, using accessible and affordable foods and even how to set up and grow food. Trained YMCA staff will oversee the Healthy Living Mobile Kitchen and its year-round programming.

Previous Years Impact Numbers for Mobile Feeding

2016 Served 3,991 Meals

2017 Served 4,861 Meals

2018 Served 9,300 Meals

2019 Served 10,719 Meals

2020-2021 Served 359,741 Meals

2022 Served 71,413 Meals

Summer Feeding

The Healthy Living Mobile Kitchen Bus visits 12 stops each day, Monday-Friday, during the summer months. The Mobile Kitchen is at each site for 20 minutes providing healthy meals to kids and adults who are accompanied by a child. Prior to the Mobile Kitchen’s arrival, the Healthy Living Mobile Fitness Bus provides 30 minutes of physical activity. The fitness component is used to not only provide physical activity but it gathers the kid’s so that they are ready to eat when the mobile kitchen arrives.

Farmers Markets:

This program provides fresh fruits and vegetables to after school programs in the Lansing School District, along with teaching the children financial literacy. Each child is given “Y Bucks” that they can purchase fruit and vegetables that they can take home. This program is set up like a farmers market and is a way to create access to fruits and vegetables while focusing on financial literacy.

Schools Out:

This program provides children with a meal on the days that the Lansing School District is closed during the school year. The Mobile Kitchen visits multiple sites on these days, providing physical activity followed by a meal. It is during the Schools- Out days that kids run the risk of not eating and this program helps fill that gap.

Original Funding Bus Partners

Funding partners of the Healthy Living Mobile Kitchen include the Walmart Foundation; Dean Transportation; Lansing School District’s food vendor, SodexoMAGIC; Maloney Carpet One Floor & Home; Driven Collision and Skyline Outdoor, who provided the wrapping for the bus.