Harvest Gathering

Harvest Gathering

Over 20 years ago, my state representative Bill Schuette and his wife Cynthia started a project called “Harvest Gathering”.  Today across Michigan we have The Food Pantry Network.

I would like us to begin our own Harvest Gathering this fall at our district and president’s meetings.  Through the district directors and their call letters to meetings, I want to encourage every attendee to bring a non-perishable donation to their district meeting.  The collection of items will be given to the local food pantry network where the district meetings are held.  

A local Harvest Gathering chairman or a representative from the Network can be scheduled to come and pick up the “harvest” of canned goods, personal care products, and paper products.  Just an example for you  -- more than 1.8 million people in Michigan are missing meals each day and far too many receive only one meal a day.  In fact, a newly released study from Feeding America shows there are 305,417,966 meals are missed by Michiganians each year.  The pantry workers often hear, “We had $50 in the bank.  We had to choose between putting gas in the car or buying food.”

If your club has been waiting for a new challenge, this is it!  Feed those who are less fortunate than we are.  Grow it – share it – give to your local pantry network, homeless shelter or soup kitchen.   After all, how many zucchini can one family eat?