GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan – The Green Apple Pantry is proud to announce a partnership with Meijer to provide much-needed relief to local families facing food insecurity through the retailer’s customer-driven hunger relief program, Simply Give.
“We are so grateful to Meijer to help us give essential food back to the local community. Locally, we have seen an increase need coming from people in Kentwood and beyond,” said Nancy Cromley, Executive Director of The Green Apple Pantry.
Our community continues to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and food pantries are seeing increased demand in their communities.
Each Meijer Simply Give campaign replenishes the shelves of more than 260 food pantries in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Wisconsin. The program encourages customers to purchase $10 Simply Give donation cards, which are then converted into Meijer food-only gift cards and given to a local food pantry in the store’s community.
The Green Apple Pantry will benefit from donation cards purchased at the insert your local 28th Street and Kalamazoo Meijer store now through Oct. 1. In addition, Meijer will double match any cards purchased on Saturday, Sep. 10, effectively tripling contributions made on that day. Meijer customers shopping online using Meijer pickup or home delivery can also purchase Simply Give donation cards as an add-on to their orders.
“The events of the last nearly two years have taught us all the importance of community members supporting each other,” said Cromley. “We encourage community members to help us feed their neighbors facing food insecurity in Grand Rapids this season by purchasing a Meijer Simply Give food donation card during their next shopping trip.”
Since the program began in November 2008, more than $73 million has been generated for food pantries in the Midwest to distribute to its neighbors in need.
“The Simply Give program is a way for Meijer customers to partner with us and support the food banks and pantries that feed families in need in their own communities,” said Cathy Cooper, Senior Director of Community Partnerships and Giving for Meijer. “We certainly couldn’t do it without the support and commitment of our generous customers and team members, who stand beside us in this effort.”
About Meijer Philanthropy: Meijer is a family-owned retailer based in Grand Rapids, Mich. with a fundamental philosophy aimed at enriching lives in the communities it serves. Meijer proudly donates more than 6 percent of its net profit each year to charities throughout the Midwest. With hunger as a corporate philanthropic focus, Meijer partners with hundreds of food banks and pantries through its Simply Give and food rescue programs. Meijer also supports education, disaster relief, and health and wellness initiatives. For additional information on Meijer philanthropy, please visit www.meijercommunity.com. Follow Meijer on Twitter @twitter.com/Meijer and @twitter.com/MeijerPR or become a fan at www.facebook.com/meijer.
Happy Holiday Season!
Our first Harvest Open House was held at the pantry in Mid-October. I am happy to say, it was a huge success. A big shout out to everyone who helped make it a memorable event. There is nothing like hosting an event in house. Everyone knows, things must be cleaned, organized, tossed, and painted. Our new garden space was also tidied up! I must say we looked pretty good!
Happy Summer Everyone. One day it is 90 degrees, and then 68! That is weather in Michigan…very uncertain. Just like this past year!
As our families continue to face uncertainty, one thing is certain, Read full post
Here we are well into the start of 2021. What a crazy year 2020 was. At times things were difficult, challenging, and INSPIRING! I am now looking towards Spring 2021 with new hope and excitement.
I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who offered support during 2020. We continue to have volunteers who work in the building, restocking, and packing food, and volunteers who pick up product. Read full post
I love this time of year! The cool crisp autumn days and beautiful fall colors refresh my soul.
I am thankful to live in Michigan where we embrace and celebrate the change of seasons. Read full post
Dear Neighbors, Friends, and Community,
It is hard to believe that we have been working under our Covid conditions for 17 weeks. Spring is gone and we are now deep into summer.
We long for normalcy, however we know that normal will look very different in the weeks and months to come.
The Green Apple is taking back volunteers on a scheduled basis. If you are interested in helping us feed our neighbors please contact Yoli via email (at yolifuentes@thegreenapplepantry.org).
As we move forward towards a new normal, The Green Apple is working hard to ensure that we stay healthy and are able to meet the needs of our neighbors.
We have established a new policy for checking in our neighbors and the distribution of food to those who have a need. This will be a fluid process and we will make mistakes along the way; things may change many times before we get it right.
We would like to thank everyone who attended, donated to, and volunteered at our first ever Women’s Event! The Green Apple and I Support The Girls served 81 women with 1,627 menstrual products and 172 bras, and 264 pairs of underwear. Read full post
First lets start with our new name. As many of you already know we are now using the name The Green Apple. The board applied to the State of Michigan last summer to do business as The Green Apple and we have their ap- proval. The reasoning was that The Pantry was too specific for our community. We wanted a name that included all of the services and programs we provide. Since the green apple was in our logo it seemed to be the obvious choice. The board is currently working with a free lance artist to make the necessary changes. We plan to keep the green and orange color scheme and will have new brochure and stationery by the first of February.
Food Fight Friday took place on October 25 at East Kentwood High School. This is our second year receiving generous donations from Food Fight Fridays organized by Fox 17 news.
Thank you to all students and staff who participated in this annual event. The East Kentwood High School Community collected over 3,000 pounds of food for The Green Apple. This was a friendly competition between local High Schools, but it is clearly a winning opportunity for our neighbors. Read full post
Neighbors and Friends of The Green Apple –
I would like to personally thank everyone who joined us for our First Annual Harvest Dinner. What an enjoyable evening! In the past this event was held as a Harvest Luncheon, but due to the success this year, this event will continue as a Harvest Dinner. Read full post
I went grocery shopping recently and when I came home had to figure out where to put everything I had bought. All of the fresh produce had to fit in the fridge, along with the yogurt, cheese, milk, and other cold foods. The freezer had to be rearranged to hold the chicken, frozen veggies, and such. All of the canned and boxed food had to be organized in my pantry. I have a small kitchen with limited storage space and I have to think ahead when shopping about where to put everything when I get home.
While I was putting everything away I was thinking about our new home at The Pantry. It is sort of like my small kitchen. We have less space now than we used to, by almost 7,000 square feet, so our focus on having healthier items for our neighbors just got even more important. If we have even less room on our shelves and in our warehouse, we have to make sure that what we do keep on hand is the most nutritious options for those who will be coming to receive it. Read full post
