LANSING, Mich. — The radio is silent in Greg Pratt’s van, but that doesn’t mean it’s quiet as dozens of styrofoam containers filled with food squeal loudly from the trunk with each bump and turn.

A former Marine, stay-at-home dad and Lansing resident, Pratt spends at least one night a week canvassing the city looking for homeless encampments to deliver meals to. How he delivers, and how often he goes out, is dictated by a mixture of available donations and the weather.

“Our biggest problem right now is, they’re going so far back in the woods, that nobody goes back” to help, said Pratt, who’s been doing outreach in the area for the last five years.

Lansing is among a growing number of local governments in Michigan and the country that are cracking down on homeless encampments, which Prat

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