MDHHS director visits MDHHS Metro Detroit district offices, distributes food at Forgotten Harvest pop-up food pantry, tours Wayne Health Mobile Unit, Operation Refuge and Mother’s Pantry

LANSING, Mich. - Today, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Elizabeth Hertel met with employees from the MDHHS Taylor and Greenfield/Joy district offices in Wayne County to learn first-hand about their work as part of the department’s efforts to reduce Michigan’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payment error rate. The SNAP payment error rate measures the accuracy of each state’s eligibility and benefit determinations for participating households who receive food assistance.

“MDHHS has implemented several new internal processes to ensure the timeliness and accuracy of the information we need to receive from eligible SNAP beneficiaries,” said Hertel. “As that work continues over the coming months, it is important to me to hear directly from our staff doing this work at the local offices to clearly understand how we can continue to refine our processes and improve outcomes.”

While at the Taylor MDHHS office, Hertel toured Forgotten Harvest’s On-the-Go pantry and helped individuals select groceries at no cost to them. MDHHS, in partnership with Forgotten Harvest, offers these mobile food pantries on a monthly basis at select MDHHS offices in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties. Today’s event in Taylor is the third food distribution site with additional events scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 20 in Madison Heights and Tuesday, Jan. 27 in Hamtramck.  Since Sept. 2025, these events have served nearly 550 families and distributed more than 11 tons of groceries.

“Forgotten Harvest is excited to extend this fantastic partnership,” said Kelli Kaschimer, Director of Client Services at Forgotten Harvest. “Being able to bring food in a dignified and respectful way, directly to where people are in need, just makes sense. Having two trusted organizations like the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Forgotten Harvest working together gives communities a trusted resource for their families’ nutritional needs.”

Also onsite during the Taylor MDHHS office food pantry pop up was the Wayne Health Mobile Units, which partners with MDHHS to bring care to families where they live and work in Southeast Michigan. The mobile unit provides free or low-cost health screenings for blood pressure, as well as testing for diabetes, high cholesterol and kidney disease. 

In Inkster, Hertel visited Operation Refuge and Mother’s Pantry to learn more about the organization’s commitment to addressing the needs of the community. MDHHS works in partnership with Operation Refuge to support the Inkster community and provide essential resources to low-to-moderate income youth, adults and families. Operation Refuge also helps recruit and support foster and kinship families in the community by hosting events and sharing information on how to support kids and families within the child welfare system. 

Mother’s Pantry, housed within Operation Refuge, is a client choice food pantry that enables clients to choose from a wide variety of foods.

“The outreach and community support that Operation Refuge provides stands as a model of compassionate, community-centered service,” Hertel said. “When we ensure access to essential resources, we are building a stronger foundation for healthier, more resilient families.”