Feeding America heads outdoors with mobile food pantry

An Ishpeming food bank decided to take advantage of the mildly warm summer weather today by moving their operation outside.

Feeding America has been hosting mobile food pantries throughout the state for a while now, but it’s never been done before, here, in the U.P.

“This initial one was a test pantry for sure, but we definitely want to do a whole bunch more of these here,” noted David Mason, Manager of the Feeding America West Michigan Branch. “What it allows us to do is more people through here a lot faster. It’s a lot more efficient process. The way we have the mobile pantries designed is to kind of show people that you can do a pantry anywhere as long as you have a parking lot.”

Mason hoped to feed about 250 families with close to 10,000 pounds of food at the outdoor outfit. For those who need the help, but weren’t able to make it, there’s still hope yet.

“If you know anybody that is having a food instability issue, send them our way,” Mason remarked. “We’d be more than happy to take care of them.”

If you’d like more information on how to take advantage of the food bank or even if you’d just like to help, you can call their office directly at 906-485-4988 or go online and visit their website.