By Jessica Mathews/News@whmi.com


The Salvation Army of Livingston County is again updating the community on response efforts over the past two weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, saying local need continues to increase.

With the latest news that the schools will not reopen for the rest of the school year, The Salvation Army has extended its Mobile Lunch Program. That program served 2,491 meals in just two weeks to 1,307 people and will continue to run every weekday until June 5th. Through that program, the local Corps is able to continue helping families alleviate the added expense of the additional meal the kids would have received at school. The Salvation Army has provided 1707 pounds of food through its food pantry and had 88 volunteers provide over 248 hours of service.

Major Prezza Morrison says June 5th would have been the last day of school for students, which is how they determined how long the program would run. Later in the month, the local Corps will start its normal summer programming, the Summer Lunch Bunch, which will provide not only a meal but also a pantry box. Over the past three weeks, The Salvation Army has also seen an increase of more than double the number of families coming to the food pantry for groceries as well as a huge increase in the number of people in need of shelter. In addition to the extended Mobile Lunch Program, The Salvation Army will continue providing the pantry boxes for the Howell Area School families on April 6th, 13th and 20th. The pantry boxes will contain breakfast, lunch and snacks that families can pick up once a week. At this time the special program is only for Howell area school children.

Additionally, since the Governor’s Shelter in Place order, the number of nights people are being sheltered has doubled to ensure they are not being sent out to seek additional shelter during this time. Major Morrison says normally many families in need of shelter are able to stay with family and friends to help them get back on their feet. However since COVID 19 hit Michigan, the Shelter in Place order was executed and CDC’s recommendations, she says families experiencing homelessness need another option.

The Salvation Army is seeking monetary help. The cost of the Mobile Lunch Program, Howell Schools partnership, additional pantry assistance and added shelter nights is almost $50,000 per month. That’s said to be in addition to the normal assistance the Salvation Army is still providing.

To volunteer contact Darlene Howard at 517-295-4347 or darlene.howard@usc.salvationarmy.org. To donate in-kind or monetary donations contact April Dertian at 517-295-4344 or april.dertian@usc.salvationarmy.org. Donations can be dropped off at The Salvation Army Corps location Monday- Friday 9am-4:30pm, 503 Lake St, Howell 48843

New information is coming hourly and we may change to better serve the needs. For up-to-date information check out our Facebook page: Facebook @SalvationArmyLivingston.