Law student fulfilling mission to distribute food in Detroit to those in need during COVID-19

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A 22-year-old law school student has spent the pandemic helping get food to people in need. And for many the free food giveaway, which is Mondays through Saturdays at Historic King Solomon Baptist Church on 14th Street in Detroit, is a godsend.

"We've done well over 500,000 meals, over half a million meals," says Chanel Taylor. But her operation started small. 

In March, Taylor and her family and friends at the church partnered with Forgotten Harvest and wanted to help senior citizens who were stuck at home and couldn't leave because of the risk of COVID-19. 

"We distributed those meals to seniors all across the city of Detroit," Taylor says. Then World Central Kitchen came on board with meals from area restaurants and the meal program really took off.

"We went from giving out hundreds of meals a week to 50,000 meals per week," she says. 

And with more volunteers and more community partners, suddenly they were feeding people coming by the church, picking up produce and providing meals to other churches and shelters for them to hand out while, of course, still taking care of the senior citizens.

Taylor knows some people are able to come out and pick up food and others need it delivered. She says this operation is really about being able to pivot to meet their needs.

"Pivot with the resources coming in and the resources going out, that's a huge part of making everything successful."

"Some people don't receive any public assistance and they're trying to work and provide for their family, so to be able to pull up and get extra food for you and your family is amazing," says Tamika Rudolph, who showed us one of the hot meals and fruit she picked up. 

Taylor says poverty and hunger will outlast this pandemic and that she wants to continue this work. She's in the process of forming what she's calling the Detroit Benevolent Society to continue this work in the community.