Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Livingston County residents and others in need will benefit from a recent donation to Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan.

For the sixth year in a row; Walmart, Bimbo Bakeries USA (Sara Lee Bread), and Tyson Foods have joined forces to help end hunger. The three companies donated 40,000 pounds of food – equating to thousands of meals – to Gleaners Community Food Bank through a partnership with Feeding America. It will help those who struggle with hunger in the counties that the food bank serves.

Officials say food insecurity heightened throughout the pandemic and then inflation over the past year further challenged struggling households and the emergency food network. Feeding America foodbanks – like Gleaners Community Food Bank – continue to be sought after as a lifeline in this time of increased need.

Representatives from each of the organizations visited Gleaners Community Food Bank this week to volunteer, deliver the donation, and tour the facility. As part of this partnership, Walmart, Bimbo Bakeries USA and Tyson Foods donated 5,000 pounds of bread and 35,000 pounds of protein that will be given to individuals and families over the coming weeks.

Gleaners Community Food Bank President and CEO Gerry Brisson said “The pandemic created new challenges for families, many of whom were facing hunger for the first time. When you add in inflation, the holiday season and kids on winter break, far too many households are experiencing the toxic stress of food insecurity. Donations like this help us keep up with the increased demand brought on by recent health and economic crises to take hunger off the table in Southeast Michigan”.

Gleaners Community Food Bank provides food to more than 600 partner soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and other agencies across the region. It supplements the efforts of those partners by offering direct service drive-up grocery distributions. The Livingston Distribution Center is located off Sterling Drive in Howell.

In 2021, Gleaners distributed a record-breaking 71.4 million pounds of food to neighbors in need. Every dollar donated provides three meals and 94 cents of every donated dollar goes to food and food programs.