A Forgotten Harvest truck collecting in Detroit
Image: Flickr/Vittands
The holiday season is a great opportunity to give thanks for all the things and resources we are blessed to have, and to help those less fortunate. On the day before Thanksgiving, the GM Foundation announced a grant of $50,000 to Detroit’s Forgotten Harvest, the only food rescue to serve the metro area.
While you might think that a donation to a food rescue would be towards buying food, you would be wrong. As the only food rescue helping hungry people in Detroit, the organization relies on vehicles to collect donations around the area and distribute them to those in need. The grant will be used to maintain Forgotten Harvest’s fleet of vehicles that are essential to its mission and towards the Rescue Team volunteer program.
According to The Oakland Press, the Forgotten Harvest fleet visits over 800 donors to its program all over southeast Michigan, traveling about 500,000 miles. The food rescue agency then stores the food and divides it out to over 280 agencies that give it to Detroit residents in need.
Forgotten Harvest reports that they plan to spend $324,000 in a year to maintain its fleet, which is managed by just four staff members. That budget includes repairs in case of an incident, as well as routine maintenance and preventative care.
This isn’t the first time that the GM Foundation has lent a helping hand. Last year, GM employees contributed 4,600 hours of community service to the organization, and since 1998 the GM Foundation has donated in excess of $630,000. Several work teams regularly volunteer at the food rescue, and this past Tuesday saw 40 GM employees working to help prepare for Thanksgiving.
To learn more about the GM Foundation’s work, check out the White House initiative they have chosen for Giving Tuesday, Let Girls Learn.
News Source: The Oakland Press
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