Funds Will Be Used to Expand Access to Nutritious Food For Children and Families
(July 13, 2017 – Detroit, MI) … Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan (Gleaners) is proud to announce a $250,000 grant from The Kresge Foundation (Kresge). The grant is being allocated through 2019 and allows Gleaners to increase the availability of nutritious food to hungry neighbors in Highland Park and Detroit’s North End neighborhood.
The Kresge grant helps Gleaners leverage its current emergency food distributions, fostering healthy neighborhoods by increasing the availability of nutritious food to families with children.
“We are excited to partner with The Kresge Foundation on this initiative,” said Gleaners President Gerry Brisson. “It will allow us to work with many community partners to help stabilize neighborhoods by improving access to healthy food for children, families and individuals in need.”
Gleaners is directing its efforts with a three-prong approach:
-
Offering their family-focused Mobile Pantry program at four new schools:
- Durfee Elementary Middle School,
- Henry Ford Academy-Creative Studies,
- Highland Park Renaissance Academy-Barber Campus and
- New Paradigm Loving Academy Elementary.
Each monthly distribution provides 100 students and families with approximately 30 pounds of nutritious food including approximately 17 pounds of fresh produce and 13 pounds of other healthy pantry staples.
- Doubling Mobile Food Pantry distribution hosted by Storehouse of Hope, a mainstay food and service provider serving the North End, increasing distribution to more than 350 individuals and families.
- Increased access to fresh fruits and vegetables for approximately 400 families per month at North End and Highland Park emergency food pantries; Twelfth Street Food Pantry is the lead partner.
“I have met many families who tell the same story about the need for food. Each family that has visited the Gleaners Food Pantry tell me that getting this food helps them thru the weeks where food is sparse at their homes,” states Gloria Liveoak, Community Liaison at Highland Park Renaissance Academy.
Nearly 300,000 southeast Michigan children receive free or reduced-fee meals at school; during the summer, when school is out, they risk missing essential meals. Gleaners Mobile Pantry program allows partners to target areas of need where no pantry currently exists. In Highland Park, over 49% of residents live below the poverty line (U.S Census Bureau) and the child poverty rate in Wayne County exceeds 36% (Kids Count in Michigan, 2017). Gleaners’ current emergency food distributions will be bolstered by the Kresge grant, allowing the organization to amplify food access to children and families in Highland Park and Detroit’s North End neighborhood.
About The Kresge Foundation
The Kresge Foundation is a $3.5 billion private, national foundation that works to expand opportunities in America’s cities through grantmaking and social investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, and community development in Detroit. In 2016, the Board of Trustees approved 474 grants totaling $141.5 million, and made 14 social investment commitments totaling $50.8 million. For more information, visit www.kresge.org.
About Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan
For 40 years, Gleaners Community Food Bank has been “feeding hungry people and nourishing our communities.” Last year, Gleaners distributed more than 38 million pounds of emergency food to over 534 partner schools, soup kitchens, shelters and pantries in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Monroe counties. Of every dollar donated, Gleaners uses 95 cents for food and food programs. One dollar provides three meals for a hungry neighbor. For more information, visit https://www.gcfb.org.
Media Only: For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
C&B Scene: 248.336.8360 scene@candbscene.com