“SERVING TOGETHER IS A MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE.”

Food for Thought

Hunger is a huge need in our community. The Food Bank of South Central Michiganworks hard to address it. In my role with faith-based program Love Thy Neighbor Ministries, I thought about how we could partner with the Food Bank to feed more people. Love Thy Neighbor Ministries and the Food Bank were able to gather volunteers, donors and supplies to draw more folks to our food pantry. That was meaningful, but I kept thinking we could do even more.

Food for Kids

I reached out to Harper Creek Community Schools to see if we could help provide weekend meals for kids in need. Pretty soon, we were partnering with the Food Bank to provide backpacks with food for the weekends. Then Harper Creek asked if we could continue the backpacks through the summer for kids who attended the Summer Feeding programs. I turned to the Food Bank to help answer this call, and once again they stepped up, providing more resources and more volunteers.

Food for Life

Partnership made these efforts work, allowing more people—especially children—to be fed. Even more, serving together is a meaningful experience.

Getting Help

The Food Bank of South Central Michigan feeds hungry people by collecting and distributing food and grocery products, advocating for hunger-relief programs and collaborating with others who address basic human needs. Working with Fred and others in the community is changing the story.

Education

To give children the greatest chance to thrive, we invest in early childhood programs that help each child start school ready to learn.  We also support programs that provide quality child care and after-school activities, get families involved in their children’s education, and help children become leaders.

Income

We’re helping families become – and stay – self-sufficient by investing in programs that help them stay in their homes, through rental assistance, budgeting and financial counseling. We also help people become financially stable by supporting job training and retention programs, and through the Tax Counseling Initiative and the Emergency Food and Shelter program.