GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., May 30, 2019 —The food pantry opening at Lake City Evangelical Presbyterian Church will distribute their first 6,000 meals thanks to the Missaukee Area Community Foundation, a geographic component fund of the Cadillac Area Community Foundation. The pantry will provide Missaukee County’s food insecure residents with produce, protein and shelf-stable foods through its partnership with Feeding America West Michigan, where $1 equals 4 meals.
The “Good Neighbor Food Pantry” will be open biweekly and serve roughly 90 individuals per month. To maximize their impact, coordinators Mike and Chris Klein are seeking volunteers, individual donations and support from other local organizations.
1 in 8 people face food insecurity in Missaukee County, with children even more at risk: 1 in 6 are food insecure. Families facing food insecurity are often forced to make tradeoffs – such as choosing between buying groceries and paying other bills. This leaves them at risk for hunger and the health concerns that accompany it. Seeing the need for food support in their community propelled Mike and Chris to open a food pantry at their church. Chris’s previous experience in the nonprofit sector helped them make this dream a reality.
Feeding America West Michigan is inspired by organizations that join forces to fight hunger. With the combined efforts of the Missaukee Area Community Foundation, Lake City Evangelical Presbyterian Church and Feeding America West Michigan, those facing hunger in Missaukee County will have a new food resource to count on.
About Feeding America West Michigan
Serving local families in need since 1981, Feeding America West Michigan reclaims safe surplus food from farmers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers. That food is distributed through a network of 900 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other hunger-relief agencies in 40 of Michigan’s 83 counties from the Indiana border through the Upper Peninsula. For more information, visit FeedWM.org or call 616-784-3250.
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