The Oakland Press – Lifestyles Suburban Sections
Commerce Township-based nonprofit Higher Hopes’ food program will now run year-round – providing more than 400,000 pounds of food in 2019.
The food is given away through the Early Head Start Child Care Partnership Program in Detroit.
“It is incredible to grasp the amount of food we are providing to very poor families this year,” says Bill Birndorf, founder of Higher Hopes.
“In all, Higher Hopes will distribute 12,000 meal kits to the families in the city, which is over 200,000 healthy meals. … Receiving these kits frees up much needed money to pay other bills and buy clothes and other needed items.”
The Order of the Fishermen Ministry Head Start Program, in partnership with Higher Hopes and Gleaners Food Bank, has touched the lives of several hundred families with children living in the city of Detroit for the last five years – and will help even more now that the program is running year-round.
Tonia Franks, assistant director of Head Start, said, “If children arrive at school hungry, they often fail to thrive in their physical, social and emotional development, which is a deterrent to our mission. Higher Hopes and Gleaners Food Bank provide monthly nutritious food boxes to Head Start programs across the city of Detroit, including fresh vegetables, fruits and everyday staples, plus meat proteins, legumes and even gallons of milk. The look of joy on the parent’s faces is its own reward.”
Higher Hopes! is a registered 501c3 founded by Birndorf in 2014. Corporate and individual contributions are always welcome and can be made at www.higherhopesdetroit.org or at the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Higher-Hopes/351220508366604.