Food Secure Nation Episode 16: If We’re Serious About Outcomes, Partnership Isn’t Optional

Food security takes shape when communities align around the people they serve. In this episode of Food Secure Nation, Dr. Phil Knight and Gerry Brisson welcome Brian McGrain, Executive Director of Michigan Community Action, for a conversation that models the kind of partnership required to move to the next frontier of this work.

McGrain represents 27 Community Action Agencies across Michigan, part of a national network of nearly 1,000 agencies working to address the conditions that keep families in crisis. Serving all 83 counties, these agencies operate across housing, food access, utility assistance, early childhood programs, financial empowerment, and more—bringing a comprehensive, community-based approach to stability and self-sufficiency.

At the center of the conversation is a defining truth: families do not experience our systems separately—they experience whether life works.

A parent trying to put food on the table may also be facing housing instability, rising utility costs, transportation challenges, and wages that are not keeping up with the cost of living. When systems are disconnected, people are left to navigate the gaps. When leaders align their strengths, they can blend those systems into coordinated solutions that meet real-life needs.

That is where real progress happens.

Food banks, Community Action Agencies, health systems, schools, workforce programs, and local leaders each bring something essential. When those strengths are intentionally connected, communities begin to activate the six dimensions of food security—availability, access, utilization, stability, sustainability, and agency. No single organization carries all six, but together, they can.

McGrain highlights that Community Action Agencies are locally governed, deeply connected to the communities they serve, and grounded in lived experience. That perspective ensures that solutions are shaped with people, not simply delivered to them.

The conversation also acknowledges the real-world tension leaders face—local governance, funding structures, contracts, and service boundaries. These realities matter, but they cannot become barriers. The work ahead requires leaders who are willing to navigate the gaps and blend systems into something better for the people depending on them.

The closing challenge is clear: if we’re serious about outcomes, partnership isn’t optional. It’s a requirement.