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Beating hunger one PB & J sandwich at a time |
Approximately 27 percent of students (a staggering 50,869 kids) enrolled
in Oakland County Schools qualify for free or reduced-price lunches,
according to Lori Adkins, nutrition consultant for Oakland County
Schools. But what about the summer months, when low-income families
can no longer rely on free school lunches to help feed their kids?
That’s when Lighthouse of Oakland County—a charity that helps provide
food for 500 to 600 families a month—steps in. Sadly, at the start of
this summer, their cupboards were bare of peanut butter, an important
protein source.
In a simple twist of fate, Velvet Peanut Butter’s CEO Eric Bruce had
contacted one of his main vendors, Hiller’s Markets, to scope out
opportunities to make a charitable donation. “I had always been
impressed with the many charitable works Hiller’s does. Although we are a
small company I wanted to do our bit to help people in these tough
times. Working with Hiller’s to help feed hungry kids was a great
match,” explains Bruce.
 The timing couldn’t
have been better. Lighthouse of Oakland County was thrilled to hear that
10 cases of peanut butter would be coming their way. Then Justin
Hiller, vice president of Hiller’s Markets, decided to make the donation
a complete PB & J package. He organized donations of freshly baked
Michigan-based Aunt Millie’s bread and Fairmont Farms Jelly and
Hiller’s Markets is transporting the food supplies to the Pontiac-based
charity on Friday, July 2.
“Both Velvet Peanut Butter and Hiller’s have a long-standing tradition
in the Detroit area,” says Justin Hiller. “We both want to help, to do
our part in strengthening the community. And helping children is a vital
part of that, especially when there’s a real danger of children not
getting enough to eat when school is out.”
Lighthouse of Oakland County’s CEO, John Ziraldo, is delighted with the
donation. “It is not simply support for Lighthouse, it is neighbors
helping neighbors,” says Ziraldo. ”We are all about providing healthy,
nutritious, good quality food to help families that are struggling.”
Ziraldo pointed out that the poor economy has forced more people to come
to Lighthouse for help. “A third of the people we are seeing now are
coming for help for the first time in their lives. It is a very
challenging time, but we are also seeing the remarkable generosity of
folks,” he adds.
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Voices 
