After two and a half years of planning and development, the nonprofit Peace Neighborhood Center’s HUB Community Center in Ypsilanti Township is beginning to serve the surrounding neighborhood with a twice-weekly food pantry. While the facility, formerly Zion Lutheran Church at 1515 S. Harris Rd., is still undergoing remodeling, members of the Peace Neighborhood Center HUB Coalition wanted to ensure that community members had early access to the wide variety of services that coalition members intend to offer by this summer.

"You can’t assist someone with other issues and traumas if they’re hungry," explains Peace Neighborhood Center Executive Director Bonnie Billups, Jr. "Starting with opening the food pantry helps us to build up on other programs, and for us to be able to find out what the needs of the community are to continue to grow."

The food pantry will be open Mondays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The pantry works on a "choice shopping" model, where guests are able to peruse a grocery store-style pantry stocked with fresh produce, dairy products, protein options, and nonperishable goods. Billups hopes to begin offering weekly community meals toward the end of the February as a way to build a stronger sense of community.

"A big part of what we do at Peace is ask what people need, instead of determining what they need," Billups says. "We really believe in making sure people have choice and a sense of power, and serving them with dignity and respect."

The food pantry is part of a continuing partnership between Peace and fellow nonprofit Food Gatherers, which also serves on the HUB Coalition to determine community needs and help jumpstart new partnerships with other local organizations. Billups and Food Gatherers staff agree that the HUB food pantry is not meant to detract from similar food services in the area, but to provide another option for those struggling with food insecurity.

"We are absolutely thrilled to be able to provide a lot of fresh and nutritious options at no cost to Peace to support this program," says Andrew Paniagua, Food Gatherers' community food programs coordinator. "We have a longstanding relationship with Peace, and to be a part of their work to connect the community to things they need is amazing."

Billups promises other services will come to the HUB once building renovations are complete, including partnerships with local organizations including Home of New Vision, Michigan Works! Southeast, and Hope Clinic. More information about the HUB and upcoming events can be found on Peace Neighborhood Center’s website.

"We’re scaling up slowly ... to make sure we know what we’re able to tackle and assist with," Billups says.

Rylee Barnsdale is a Michigan native and longtime Washtenaw County resident. She wants to use her journalistic experience from her time at Eastern Michigan University writing for the Eastern Echo to tell the stories of Washtenaw County residents that need to be heard.

Photo by Rylee Barnsdale.