comes from private sources, including individual donors
Help us make an impact
After forty three years, your support is still vitally important. If you are interested in fighting hunger in our region, we invite you to explore the information below and reach out to us with questions about the best ways for you to help. On behalf of the 650,000 food-insecure citizens in our five-county service area, thank you for helping Gleaners continue to provide these critical services.
Call 313-923-3535 with any inquiries or about making a donation. You can also contact any one of the Gleaners’ staff in the Advancement Office directly.
Why give to Gleaners
Gleaners is the largest, most comprehensive service organization working to alleviate hunger in southeastern Michigan. Over the last four decades, Gleaners’ food distribution has grown from 537,462 pounds in 1977 to 45.8 million pounds in 2019. Headquartered in Detroit where our largest distribution facility is located, Gleaners also operates facilities throughout southeastern Michigan in Howell, Pontiac, Taylor and Warren. We are supported by a dedicated team of over 100 staff and more than 45,000 volunteers.
pounds of food distributed in 2019
Partnerships that provide impact
Gleaners works with 500 partners—schools, churches, community organizations, hospitals, and other non-profit agencies—to identify hungry individuals and families and get them the assistance they need. Our process is particularly efficient with Gleaners purchasing perishable food items in bulk and using existing distribution pipelines – service providers already working in the community. As a step beyond putting food into the hands of those who need it, Gleaners also teaches nutrition and cooking, raises awareness about hunger in the community, and promotes volunteerism and engagement with hunger issues in our region.
Creative solutions for ending hunger
In instances where serious gaps in service exists, Gleaners has stepped in to develop creative solutions. For example, Gleaners works with schools to distribute weekend backpacks filled with nutritious food for children who rely on free or reduced-fee school meals during the week. To help people with mobility issues our Mobile Pantries go directly into the community to serve senior citizens and those with physical disabilities. One of our newest projects, Making Investments in the Lives of Kids (M.I.L.K.), delivers fresh milk—the hardest item to get into the hands of low-income families—directly to homes and area agencies for pick up.
Whether you give directly to a specific program or to the Gleaners’ Annual Fund, you are making an important difference.
Donation FAQs
You can make a financial donation by calling 1-866-GLEANER or by mailing a check to:
Gleaners Community Food Bank
2131 Beaufait
Detroit, MI 48207
Yes. More and more people are choosing alternative gift options for birthdays, holidays, memorials and many other occasions. On the online donation form, select your donation type from the “This donation is an honor/memorial gift:” drop down menu. Fill in the blank space with the title and name of the person you are honoring or memorializing. Then include the name and address of who you’d like to receive a card acknowledging the gift. Including a personalized message, closing, and signature is voluntary.
Yes, once your donation has been processed, you will receive a confirmation letter and receipt (via email if your gift was made online, via mail if your gift was made otherwise) that you can keep for your personal records. You should receive this acknowledgement within 24 hours for online donations, and one to three weeks for all other donations.
To make any changes to your account, please contact our Development Team at 1-866-GLEANER ext. 660. For security reasons, we do not recommend you send changes or updates to your credit card by postal mail.
If you have made an error in making your donation or change your mind about contributing to Gleaners, we will honor your request for a refund made within 15 days of your donation.
To request a refund, call our Development Team at 1-866-GLEANER ext. 660. Refunds are returned using the original method of payment. If you made your donation by credit card, your refund will be credited to that same credit card.
Yes. Gleaners is a 501[c][3] non-profit organization. Your donation is 100% tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.