Food pantry receives help from Meijer.

Volunteers help with food distribution.

CUSTER —  Caritas Food Pantry is partnering with Meijer to provide hunger relief to local families through the Grand Rapids-based retailer’s customer-driven food pantry donation program, Simply Give.

“This new partnership between Caritas and Meijer will prove essential in helping to provide multiple meals to our clients as demand continues to increase as the year progresses,” said Kelly Glover, Caritas Food Pantry manager.”

Each Meijer Simply Give campaign replenishes the shelves of more than 200 food pantries in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Wisconsin. The program encourages customers to purchase $10 Simply Give donation cards, which are then converted into Meijer food-only gift cards and given to a local food pantry in the store’s community.

Caritas Food Pantry will benefit from donation cards purchased at Ludington Meijer store now through Sept. 12.

“We encourage community members to help us fulfill our mission of helping feed the hungry in Mason and Manistee Counties by purchasing a Meijer Simply Give food donation card during their next shopping trip,” said Glover.

For the fourth consecutive year, Meijer will contribute at least $1 million to the Simply Give program.

The Simply Give program runs three times a year: spring, fall and holiday. Since the program began in November 2008, more than $15.5 million has been generated for food pantries in the Midwest to distribute to our hungry neighbors.

“Today’s food pantries are in a desperate struggle to keep up with the flood of requests they receive daily,” said Janet Emerson, executive vice president of retail operations for Meijer. “The Simply Give program is a way for Meijer customers to partner with Meijer and support the food banks and pantries that provide food to the hungry families in the communities we serve. We certainly couldn’t do it without the support and commitment of our generous customers and team members, who stand beside us in this effort.”

Caritas Food Pantry, located at 85 S. Madison Street, is a mission of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and serves all who come through its doors in need of emergency food assistance.  In 2014 it provided food to approximately 135 families each month.