Dr. Phil Knight

Dr. Phil Knight
Fenton 

During the pandemic, the number of food-insecure Michiganders has soared from 1.3 million to nearly 2 million people, with many of these cases being children and senior citizens. Dr. Phil Knight, the executive director of the Food Bank Council of Michigan (FBCM)—the state association for seven Feeding America food banks that serve all of Michigan’s 83 counties—understands the importance of food security.

“It is unacceptable to me that any child, senior or anyone in between is food insecure,” said Phil. “We can do better, and we must.”

Phil’s tireless effort to pursue partnerships, funding and food to meet this need helped enable FBCM to provide 47% more food than any time in their history.

Growing up, Phil’s parents led by example and showed him to help others whenever possible. Like many others, Phil once struggled with wondering if he would leave an impact on the world. When this fear crept in, he developed the philosophy that each person is given a handful of life and must choose to spend it or invest it.

“As I’ve gotten older, I realized we should do a bit of both – we should ‘spend’ some of our handful of life because life should be enjoyed. We should also ‘invest’ our lives in something that is bigger than we are and that lasts longer than we do. I tried to live with this purpose in mind,” said Phil.

Phil spent over nine years in East Africa helping to lead the projects to install schools. It was here that Phil truly realized the value of food.

“If we drove to the village today, the people who live in that village—in mud huts with grass roofs—would immediately begin to cook what food there was in the village for us,” said Phil. “They would give us the best and perhaps the only food they might have; they taught me that food communicates value.”

The Food Bank Council of Michigan distributes the best fresh produce, protein and dairy to meet the needs of any Michiganders who need nutritious food.

“When we do this, we are communicating to the people that they matter to us, they are worthy of investing in, and that we believe in them; food is powerful,” said Phil.

In addition to serving as the director for the Food Bank Council, Phil also serves as the chair for the Governor’s Food Security Council. Outside of working with food security, Phil also volunteers with the University of Michigan Kidney Cancer Research team. His wife, Christy, is a kidney cancer survivor and the pair tell their story at events and fundraisers to assist in raising funding and awareness.

“I am honored to do this work,” Phil said. “I invest my one handful of life in helping our residents get out from under the toxic stress of food insecurity by taking hunger off the table so they can take positive steps towards becoming self-sufficient.”