August 21, 2014 — Comstock Park, Michigan — Five months after launching their first Hold On To Hope campaign for Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank, Live Love Michigan is debuting a second line of clothes to benefit the hunger-relief organization.
The model is pretty straightforward: From Aug. 25 to Sept. 7, Live Love Michigan will donate 50 percent of the sale price of every Food Bank shirt, tank top or pullover they sell. Because Feeding America West Michigan is able to distribute four meals for every dollar donated, that works out to roughly 50 meals per sale. Live Love Michigan’s spring campaign raised $726, the equivalent 2,904 meals.
“The response from the first campaign was one of our best,” said Abbey Ehn, campaign manager for Hold On To Hope. “The fact that a family of four could be fed for a week on just $20-some dollars is not only impressive, it’s something that helps all Michiganders understand that every dollar does make a difference.”
The fundraiser comes hot on the heels of the release of Hunger In America 2014, a nationwide study conducted by Feeding America and its member food banks, which found that the network served one in seven Americans in 2013, including nearly half a million people in West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.
Alarming as those figures are, they are in keeping with the increase in demand Feeding America West Michigan has seen over the past few years. In spite of an economy that is improving overall, unemployment, underemployment and the new prevalence of part-time work continue to make life difficult for thousands in West Michigan.
“The positive side of this is that we’re able to serve so many people,” said Feeding America West Michigan CEO Ken Estelle.
“With enough financial support from individuals and Michigan companies like Live Love Michigan — together with the local farmers and retailers who donate their surplus food — we know we can meet the need.”
To view Live Love Michigan’s new line of Food Bank apparel, visit holdontohope.org.