Charlotte and Josh from United Way of Southwest Michigan join Zack to talk about the Summer Stock-Up program, a new statewide initiative sponsored by Kellogg’s that needs your help! Get details at uwsm.org
United Way of Southwest Michigan launches Summer Stock Up food drive for local pantries
With Kellogg’s as a primary driver, United Ways across Michigan are participating in a first-ever statewide event to collect food in their areas, for their areas throughout June.
Every year, food pantries across Southwest Michigan are fully stocked in the winter months thanks to generous holiday donations—but when summer comes, donations drop considerably and pantry shelves become sparse. This can leave low-income, hard-working families with limited options during this time of year.
United Way of Southwest Michigan asks local businesses and community members to participate in its “Summer Stock Up” event to restock local food pantries with items to get them through the warmer months.
Either drop off items at one of our locations—OR we’ll do the shopping for you! Just pick how much you want to spend, and we’ll make sure each pantry gets exactly what they need.
Join United Way in bringing some cheer to local pantries this June!
“Shop your impact” online from June 1-30:
Drop-off locations and dates/times:
Buy items and drop them off at one of these three locations on June 24, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Freshwater Community Church – Common Area
600 E. Michigan Ave., Paw Paw, MI 49079
- First Church of God – Life Center
2627 Niles Ave., St. Joseph, MI 49085
- Berrien County Youth Fair – Youth Memorial Building
9122 US HWY 31, Berrien Springs, MI 49103
Shop at one of these locations and drop your items in the bin at the front of the store—throughout the month of June
- Harding’s Friendly Market
14 W. Monroe St., Bangor, MI 49013
- Dollar General
33933 M-140, Covert, MI 49043
- Village Market
108 E. Delaware St., Decatur, MI 49045
- Village Market
407 S. State St., Gobles, MI 49055
- Harding’s Friendly Market
10 N. Center St., Hartford, MI 49057
- Family Fare
847 S. Kalamazoo St., Paw Paw, MI 49079
- Martin’s Super Market
5637 Cleveland Ave., Stevensville, MI 49127
How Summer Stock Up was born
The statewide Summer Stock Up event evolved out of the popular “Christmas in June” local food drive that was done annually by United Way of Southwest Michigan. In 2020, because of the pandemic, UWSM pivoted from an in-person food drop-off event to a virtual event that provided safe shopping options that allowed donors to “shop their impact” by giving online.
The success of “Christmas in June” caught the attention of Kellogg’s, and the corporation stepped in to help reconceptualize it as a statewide “Summer Stock Up.” As the premiere sponsor, Kellogg’s has been a leader in rallying 24 United Ways in Michigan to the cause. In-person and virtual versions of the event will be available depending on the needs and situations of each United Way.
Addressing food insecurity is critical
38 percent of Michigan households work but struggle to make ends meet.
Those households—whose incomes are above the Federal Poverty Level but below the basic cost of living—are referred to as ALICE, which stands for “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.”
Over the last decade, behind the veneer of a strong economy, conditions have actually worsened for thousands of families across Michigan—setting the stage for the dual health and economic crises of the COVID-19 pandemic. Why?
- The cost of living has been increasing for ALICE households.
- The economy is increasingly dominated by jobs with low wages and less security.
- The number of ALICE households in Michigan increased in response to the Great Recession and never fully recovered.
Much of United Way’s impact work is designed to help ALICE. Michigan United Ways report annually on ALICE data and analysis.
