GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Several Kent County food pantries will be stocked for the winter months thanks to a donation this week from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
A semi-truck full of fresh and nonperishable food arrived in Grand Rapids and on Thursday will be divided among nine food pantries and relief organizations.
“We’ve been averaging around 400 households a month using our food pantry, which is close to an all-time high for us,” said Scott Christie with North Kent Connect , which runs a pantry and offers other resources. “And typically, in the past it has slowed down in the summer… but this past year, it has been nonstop busy. Our resources have been stretched and we’re running a little thin.”
He said the donation will help them feed families through spring.
“Just having access to fresh, healthy food, especially when you’re living paycheck to paycheck and food prices have gone up, isn’t really an option. So people tend to go towards less expensive items that are also not healthy,” Christie said.