Client Choice Market volunteers (L to R) Chris Mead, Frank Bizze, Skylar Parrish, Freda Smith, Jeanne Franklin, and Paige Williams II Sarah Williams
Rosie Samuels, Food Pantry Associate Sarah Williams
Forgotten Harvest Client Choice Market Sarah Williams
Forgotten Harvest’s Director of Client Services Kelli Kaschimer and Market Manager Larry Sleiman Sarah Williams
A premier food rescue organization serving Southeast Michigan is changing how it delivers healthy, nutritious meals to people in need.
Inside its Client Choice Market in Oak Park, Forgotten Harvest invites registered clients to shop by appointment, choosing food items for their families based on their dietary and cultural needs and preferences.
Thanks to hundreds of donations, fresh produce and dairy, canned goods, hygiene products, and infant care are free of charge.
“Our goal goes beyond just giving people food,” says Kelli Kaschimer, director of client services for the nonprofit. “It's giving an experience that helps them maintain their dignity and respect as human beings. A lot of times, people in need aren't always treated so kindly. This is a way for us to help change that.”
Forgotten Harvest isn’t responsible for creating the client choice model, a relatively new concept in the world of food banking and food pantries. Still, the organization is championing it among its more than 200 agency partners as the preferred method of serving those in need. Empowering people to select what their family will eat is an excellent way to prevent food waste, says Kaschimer. It also builds self-esteem that parents are trusted to know what's best for their children.
Because Forgotten Harvest is a food rescue organization, the market can't guarantee any one specific food on any day but aims to have a well-balanced selection. Deliveries come twice a week bringing items such as fresh, canned, and frozen produce; shelf-stable protein; fresh protein, including poultry and beef; dairy products, including milk and butter; eggs; bread and grains; and infant diapers and formula. Sometimes, the pantry has clothing and household goods.
The pilot market has been open since November 2023. Kaschimer says Forgotten Harvest’s Oak Park building on Greenfield Road is much bigger than needed and is up for sale. Plans for a permanent market are being discussed and will most likely be a solar paneled container building on the organization's main Eight Mile Road campus. Ideas for the new space include installing hoop house gardens to grow local produce and fresh microgreens.
In the meantime, the temporary space gives full treatment.
When clients arrive, they are greeted warmly at the front desk by “Sunshine” Rosie Samuels, a food pantry associate, who verifies their household size to ensure accurate service. Volunteers like 19-year-old Paige Williams II lead guests through the warehouse, asking about their day, pointing out new items, giving guests time to read labels and make selections, and loading groceries into their car — a personal shopping experience.
“I've always enjoyed giving back to people,” says Williams II, a Hampton University student home from Virginia for the summer. “I just know some people don't have things, so I love to help them get them.”
The Client Choice Market is one of Forgotten Harvest's few opportunities for volunteers to interact one-on-one with clients, many of whom request appointments with shoppers by name. Freda Smith, a retired DTE Energy employee who has volunteered with the organization for the past four years, delights in building relationships with regular clients. She began giving of her time one day a week and gradually increased to serve in multiple roles. Being at the market brings her a new joy.
“I enjoy the people, interacting with people, and meeting people at a point of their needs,” she says, “and without judgment.”
Volunteers like Smith and Williams II are critical to Forgotten Harvest’s ability to offer a variety of hours for clients. It's open six days a week, including some evening hours. Kaschimer says it’s important to understand that people working traditional nine-to-five jobs still struggle to make ends meet.
Some volunteers come every week to work the same shift, but the need for volunteers is considerable, with two to three shifts required daily to keep the market going. When those roles go unfilled, appointment windows lessen, or staff members from the nonprofit’s central campus fill in to ensure clients can get groceries.
Currently, clients can shop in the market once a month, an opportunity Kaschimer wants to increase. To help ensure people have food resources outside the market, she and her team work to provide clients with pantry locations and open hours within their area.
The nonprofit has been talking with its over 200 agency partners throughout Southeast Michigan about the benefits of the client choice model, encouraging organizations to embrace it as a more dignified way to serve the community and cut food waste.
The nonprofit also aims to launch a mobile client choice market this month (August). The grocery store on wheels will regularly visit select communities around the tri-county area so people who can’t get to Oak Park can register for appointments closer to home. The organization’s goal is to eventually have four mobile units in addition to a permanent location, one for each county and one specifically serving the city of Detroit.
It will take support from community partners to make this happen. Key sponsors like Priority Health, Bank of America, Drayton Avenue Presbyterian Church, Humana and Rite-Aid have played a pivotal role in bringing the pilot market online.
If Forgotten Harvest can get more volunteers into the building, it can serve more clients. When it opened, the market saw two clients every 15 minutes and now serves three every 10.
“Some of our clients are in and out and stay 5 to 10 minutes and some of our clients, this is their outing for the day, and they're with us for a good solid hour,” Kaschimer says. “We don’t rush them, and we don't slow them down. This is their shopping experience.”
Forgotten Harvest’s Client Choice Market is at 21800 Greenfield in Oak Park. People can make appointments by calling 248-268-7756.
For volunteer opportunities, go to https://www.forgottenharvest.org/volunteer-3/.
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