COME & MAKE A DIFFERENCE, as The Salvation Army of Michigan City, First Trust Credit Union, Al’s Supermarkets, local WEFM & WIMS radio stations, and the Michigan City Area Schools celebrate 21 years of hosting the “STUFF A BUS” food drive for The Salvation Army’s food pantry. Now through September 27th, you can make a monetary donation or donate non-perishable food items at First Trust’s Michigan City Branch at 950 E. U.S. Highway 20. In addition, on Saturday, September 28th, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., volunteers will be filling Michigan City school buses with bags of food donated by YOU (the local community) at both Al’s (Franklin St. & Karwick Plaza) Supermarkets. You can donate now or come to the Stuff A Bus event on the 28th to purchase much needed meat vouchers and/or pre-packed bags of groceries for families in need.
Major Becky Simmons of The Salvation Army of Michigan City stated, “Typically we serve around 500 families each month though our food pantry.” Simmons added that according to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap (FY22), 102,260 (12%) of neighbors including 32,860 (18.3%) children in northern Indiana are food insecure. What better time is there to do our part and HELP feed our own community? The Salvation Army is very grateful for all the community partners who have worked together the past 21 years to make this event a success each year. Al’s Supermarkets is the location host for the event, and they work with food suppliers to purchase the products that fill the pre-packed $5 bags which are assembled prior to the event that is always held on a Saturday in September. This year the $5 bags and $5 meat vouchers will be ready to purchase and donate ahead of the event, beginning on Wednesday, September 25th. This is convenient for folks who want to donate but can’t attend the actual event.
Please come out and support the STUFF A BUS event, by making food or monetary donations at First Trust Credit Union now, or by attending the event. At the Stuff A Bus event on September 28th, you can meet local radio celebrities from WEFM 95.9 at Al’s Supermarket (Karwick Plaza) from 9 a.m. – 12 noon, and WIMS AM1420 radio celebrities at Al’s Supermarket (Franklin Street) from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. They will be encouraging the public and local businesses to come out and help to make sure that NO ONE in our hometown goes hungry. Dorene Martinson, Marketing Director at First Trust Credit Union, said, “Assisting with the organization of this event every year is humbling and we take it very seriously …there’s always a huge need in our community at this time of year. We’re (First Trust) conducting our food drive at our Michigan City branch, located on Highway 20, through the 27th. We’d like to encourage local businesses and the general public to come out and make a donation.” She added, “It’s truly an honor to organize and volunteer at this event each year to show our community the credit union philosophy of “People Helping People”.”
For more information, or if you would like to volunteer at the event, please contact Jessica O’Brien (The Salvation Army of Michigan City) at (219) 874-6885, or Dorene Martinson (First Trust Credit Union) at (219) 877-2290.