21 Business Days of Giving aims to restock local food pantry
SAULT STE. MARIE — The Sault community is helping to support a local food pantry in need with a month-long donation event.
The Chippewa, Luce, Mackinac Community Action Agency (CLMCAA) operates a large food pantry which supplies non-perishables to those dealing with food insecurity. The pantry helps more than 1,600 residents between the three counties of Chippewa, Luce and Mackinac.
Due to recent increases in inflation and food insecurity, the number of residents who need help has increased.
The pantry is restocked every three months using state funds, but due to recent distribution line problems, the CLMCAA was not able to restock for the coming quarter.
More:Food pantries seeing increased need after COVID-era assistance ends
"We're still working to keep the program going, but it's come to a standstill right now," said Marcy Thorne from the CLMCAA. "Century 21 is helping us keep it going for a time."
As a way to help out the depleting food pantry, local business Century 21 has organized a month of food donations from area sources. The real estate agency is asking any local person who has non-perishables they can afford to give away to help support the pantry through the donation campaign.
The 21 Business Days of Giving campaign officially began on Friday, March 24. In the short time it has been active, it has already received several donations.
"We're always looking for ways to giving back to the community, looking for ways to interact and help," said Jess Johnston, real estate agent for Century 21. "Because we aren't a nonprofit, we have more resources in terms of storing food and advertising for donations, so we thought this was a great way to give back."
Subscribe:Get unlimited access to our coverage
Century 21 plans on continuing this donation event every year, regardless of when the pantry returns to its normal distribution plans. Century 21 also plans to bring back this event in the month leading up to Thanksgiving, as that is a time of increased food insecurity in the area.
"We're seeing a huge trend of more people needing help," said Thorne. "There's been a large climb recently in families needing more and more help."
To participate in the 21 Business Days of Giving event, non-perishable food items of any kind can be dropped off at Century 21 at 1910 Ashmun St. during the hours of 8:30 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday. Items that cannot be dropped off on a weekday can be arranged to be picked up, if the donator calls ahead to schedule a time.
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: 21 Business Days of Giving aims to restock Sault food pantry
