ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Thursday, Delta County organizations came together to ensure veterans have everything they need for the holiday season.
The Community Foundation for Delta County partnered with Escanaba’s Seventh-day Adventist Pantry for a food distribution outreach at the U.P. State Fairgrounds. More than 40 volunteers gathered inside the Ruth Butler Building to sort and hand out food and household products to veterans at no charge.
“We normally have done this annually for the last dozen years or so, but ours have been much smaller,” said Cheryl Andzejewski, Executive Director of the Community Foundation for Delta County. “What we found out is that the Seventh-day Adventist does a great job at gathering all these services for our veterans, getting it all together. We decided to jump on the bandwagon and help them monetarily and with volunteers.”
The food was purchased from several local vendors and Feeding America. The VA, UPCAP, OSF Healthcare, and other organizations were on hand with information about resources for veterans.
“We do it because, you know, the economy’s not that great,” said Seventh-day Adventist Pantry Director Robin Wycoff. “We provide them with a box of food and essentials they need for the holidays, and then some of these vets don’t know the services available up here. We make sure that they know if they need anything that they’re able to get it.”
The distribution event had a huge turnout, with cars wrapped around the fairgrounds. Between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., volunteers served more than a thousand veterans.
The Seventh-day Adventist Pantry, located at 210 S Lincoln Road, is available to anyone in need throughout the year. It is open Monday through Friday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. According to Wycoff, the pantry served approximately 2,000 clients last month.
