For the second year in a row, the Detroit Lions Foundation has partnered with Gleaners to pack meal kits for our community. Last year, volunteers from the foundation helped pack 2,500 meal kits. This year, they doubled their efforts, packing 5,000 meal kits to be distributed directly to neighborhoods throughout Southeast Michigan.
Volunteers from the foundation—including players, coaches, and staff—were joined by volunteers from Meijer, Delta Air Lines, AAA, and Lineage. The Gleaners warehouse in Taylor was abuzz with activity as volunteers worked efficiently to pack boxes filled with all the trimmings needed for a Thanksgiving dinner, including green beans, corn, walnuts, fruit, stuffing, potatoes, mac and cheese, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, and corn muffin mix, as well as a 3-lb. bag of fresh apples from North Bay Produce.
“It’s super important to serve others,” shared Jake Bates, placekicker for the Detroit Lions. His teammates echoed this sentiment as they worked together to build, pack, and stack boxes headed for Gleaners’ drive-up distributions leading up to Thanksgiving.
“Thanksgiving is a time for sharing and togetherness, with so many of our traditions and celebrations centered around food,” said Angela Halverson, director of community giving for Gleaners. “Collaborations like this one show how much stronger we are when we work as one team to solve hunger in our communities.”
