Tag Archives: Hunger

SpartanNash, Miller Poultry donate more than 24,000 pounds of chicken to food pantries

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SpartanNash staff make a believer of chicken to SECOM. (Photo courtesy of SpartanNash)

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

Access of West Michigan is one of the several food banks in Michigan and Indiana to benefit from SpartanNash and Miller Polury’s recent donation of more that 24,000 pounds of chicken.

Throughout December, SpartanNash and Miller Poultry teamed up to donate 8,000 pounds of chicken to Access of West Michigan and its network of local food pantries – including SECOM, Streams of Hope, St. Al’s and Green Apple; 9,200 pounds of chicken to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan; and 7,000 pounds of chicken to the Food Bank of Northern Indiana.

VG’s Grocery, Family Fare and Martin’s Super Market associates helped with the distribution of the donations.

In total, the 24,200 pounds of chicken will provide 96,800 meals this holiday season.

“We are proud to carry Miller Poultry in our company-owned retail stores throughout the Midwest – and we are excited to once again team up with them to provide food to families in need this holiday season,” said Meredith Gremel, vice president of corporate affairs and communications for SpartanNash and executive director of the SpartanNash Foundation. “As a company that takes food places, SpartanNash and the SpartanNash Foundation are committed to building stronger communities by ensuring families have access to healthy, affordable food.”

SpartanNash owns and operates more than 155 stores in nine states, including 18 Martin’s Super Markets in Indiana and 87 stores in Michigan under the banners of Ada Fresh Market, D&W Fresh Market, Family Fare, Forest Hills Foods, Martin’s Super Markets, VG’s Grocery and ValuLand.

 

SpartanNash and Miller Poultry have taken part in the annual holiday tradition for more than 10 years, donating nearly 300,000 pounds of chicken to help families in need throughout Michigan and Indiana.

“We are a local, family-owned company, and our culture has always revolved around supporting local family farms, and the communities in which we all live,” said Galen Miller, owner and CEO of Miller Poultry. “2020 has been a tough year for many of us, but through our partnership with SpartanNash, we were able to make these donations happen again this year, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share.”

Each year, SpartanNash donates more than five million pounds of food throughout its company footprint as part of its corporate responsibility initiatives, in addition to providing financial grants to food pantry partners through corporate giving initiatives and the SpartanNash Foundation.

  

In November, the SpartanNash Foundation granted more than $400,000 to more than 100 community food pantries through its scan campaign to provide hunger relief and a series of $5,000 grants throughout the company footprint. In April, the SpartanNash Foundation also granted $250,000 to Feeding America-affiliated food bank partners as a part of its COVID-19 relief efforts.

More than 24,000 pounds of chicken were distributed to food banks in Michigan and Indiana. (Photo courtesy of SpartanNash)

Snapshots: Wyoming, Kentwood news — the much-anticipated weekend edition

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Community Health, Education, Health, Kids Activities, Non-Profits, Our Cities, Recreation, Senior Living, Upcoming Events, , , ,

By WKTV Staff

victoria@wktv.org

Quote of the Day

“What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.”*

Aristotle

*Aristotle probably would have said it this way: “Ποια είναι η ουσία της ζωής; Να υπηρετείς άλλους και να κάνεις καλό.” But in Ancient Greek and with waaaaay more accent marks.

Sounds like a dare

Ask Me Anything! is Nov. 2 at Kentwood Library. Learn about your community and your neighbors in a fun, relaxed environment. Visit the branch to “check out” different members of our community for a chance to learn from them and ask them anything. More info here.

In the ‘mark your
calendar’ category…

Courtesy Grand Valley State University

Zapatos Rojos | Red Shoes is an itinerant installation originally organized in 2009 by artist and architect Elina Chauvet in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Comprising 33 pairs of red shoes donated by the women of Ciudad Juárez — each pair representing a woman who had disappeared in that community — the piece is designed to draw attention to the fact that women were being killed without any consequences. Nov. 1, 2019-Feb. 28, 2020. Get the details here.

Do some good —
here’s how

The SpartanNash Foundation invites store guests to join the fight against hunger during its companywide fundraising effort, Oct. 23 to Nov. 3. The SpartanNash Foundation’s retail scan campaign supports more than 100 local food pantries and food banks, and 100 percent of dollars raised will support food pantry partners in eight states. Learn more here.

Fun fact:

Volunteering keeps you young

Volunteering not only engages your mind and body, but it can actually help you age well and reduce the risk of age-related diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.


‘Poverty Simulation’ staffers make the workshops happen

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By Ellie Walburg, Access of West Michigan

 

Staffers are important at Access of West Michigan.

 

In preparation for an upcoming Poverty Simulation, volunteer staffers Mary, Cindy, Tom and Rhoeda were busy at work compiling participant packets and organizing materials.

 

The Poverty Simulation is just one of many programs at Access of West Michigan to create solutions to poverty through education and collaboration. The goal in these seminars is to bring awareness of the realities of poverty and to encourage people to get involved.

 

The “Living on the Edge” poverty simulation provides an opportunity for participants to walk in the shoes of someone living in a low-income environment. The participant must navigate with their “family” how to provide for expenses, make ends meet and be sustainable throughout the event.

 

As staffers of the events, Tom and Rhoeda have been working with and learning from these simulations. What began as a way to simply get involved with the community has become a meaningful experience of inspiring participants to engage and learn.

 

Both Tom and Rhoeda, married, retired and living in Muskegon, volunteer to prepare for the simulations by preparing the packages of money and ensuring all participants will have what they need. At the simulation events, Rhoeda loves interacting with the “family members” working hard to stay afloat.

 

“I like interacting with the participants,” she said, “watching them get into their roles, with their comments, discussions — they’re deep in thought.”

 

Tom has also been moved by his experiences of being a part of the simulations.

 

“I heard a participant comment on how she really thought about it when she had to go do the different things, like leaving her child home to go work,” he said. When families are involved, things get personal.

 

Rhoeda gets excited about these events, because they’re so important.

 

“The way it changes people’s attitudes,” she said. “The way they treat people in poverty can make a big difference.”

 

Mary and Cindy also volunteer in the preparation for the simulation, and equally appreciate the opportunity to watch people’s attitudes change.

 

“I like to see the interactions with the families,” Mary said. “They cooperate with families, make a community of their own.”

 

After an afternoon of packing, planning and preparing, the team of volunteers was ready for the upcoming event. For them, it’s not just hours to fill their time, it’s an opportunity to create an awareness of poverty — on a personal level.

 

And these staffers would know. Some have lived it.

Interested in attending or hosting a poverty simulation at your organization? Please visit http://accessofwestmichigan.org/about-us/poverty-education/ for more information.

SCA’s Intriguing Conversation focuses on childhood hunger in Allegan County

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lunch bagsThe Saugatuck Center for the Arts’ Intriguing Conversation Series kicks off Thursday, Sept. 15 with a discussion about childhood hunger in Allegan County. The free program begins at 7 p.m.

 

Studies show there are more than 25,000 children in Allegan County and one in five are going hungry each day. Theresa Bray, executive director at the Allegan County Community Foundation, and Troy Vos from the non-profit Kids Food Basket, will unpack this number, talking about what we mean when we say that kids are hungry and how we know that children in Allegan County are struggling with hunger.

 

“I suspect most of us don’t know that our region struggles with childhood hunger,” said SCA Executive Director Kristin Armstrong. “But we hear fairly startling statistics about the numbers of children in Allegan County eligible for free or reduced school lunches, so we know there are issues very close to home. We hope this Intriguing Conversation provides facts about what’s happening and how people can impact the problem.”

 

Bray and Vos will discuss how programs like food banks, free school lunches, and nonprofits like Kids Food Basket impact hunger for our youngest citizens, and what else people can do to impact this serious issue.

 

For more information, visit sc4a.org or call 269-857-2399. The Saugatuck Center for the Arts is located at 400 Culver St., Saugatuck.

 

Local Business Helps Feed the Hungry in West Michigan

Local Business, Non-Profits, Our Cities, Upcoming Events, , , , ,

Feeding_America_logo.svgjanice_limbaughBy: Janice Limbaugh

The owner of Eastbrook Auto Wash and Eastbrook Oil and Lube, Paul Coffman is dedicated to this community; most especially to those families in West Michigan who are going hungry.

“Everyone should be able to have food on the table not just during the holidays, but all days of the year,” Coffman says.

EastbrookAuto2As a result, Eastbrook Auto Wash and Eastbrook Oil & Lube are holding a month-long food drive and fundraising event for Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank. Now through November 30, these businesses will be collecting canned, boxed and bagged food staples, toiletry staples, pet food supplies and monetary donations to help offset the fight against hunger in West Michigan. And yes, there is hunger in West Michigan.

Each year it is estimated that over 492,000 people receive food from Feeding America West Michigan. Since 1981 this charity has served families in 40 counties by distributing 1,100 hunger-relief agencies.

“To be able to support this charity during a time when having food on the table has such a strong advertising message, yet others have nothing for their table, is not lost on us,” says Coffman.

EastbrookAutoTo support the cause, Coffman decided that customers who make monetary or supply donations to Feeding America West Michigan during business hours (Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) will receive discounted car washes and oil changes. Every dollar donated to Feeding America West Michigan will be multiplied by the food bank by 10, turning the donation into four meals for someone in need.

The most needed items for the food drive include: jars of peanut butter, canned beef stew, tuna, chicken, fish and meat, macaroni and cheese, rice, pasta, canned vegetables and fruits, beans of all kinds and toiletries.

For more information about the event, contact Jana Schrier at eastbrookautowash@gmail.com or visit www.eastbrookautowash.com.