The warmth of the firepit on a cool Michigan day.
Enjoying a bowl of chicken noodle soup to lessen the chill.
A day spent raking leaves or taking a drive to enjoy the fall foliage.
While those activities are common to most people throughout the fall, thousands of Michiganders are grappling with a harsh reality—how they’ll put food on the table.
- Portions of the Upper Peninsula (e.g., Mackinac, Luce, Iron, Baraga, and Schoolcraft counties) have food insecurity rates above 18% compared to the state average of 15.4%.
- Approximately 415,000 children are among the 1 in 7 Michigan residents facing hunger, according to Feeding America.
In an effort to help Michiganders struggling with food insecurity, Enbridge recently donated 2,000 pounds of locally raised meat products it purchased at the UP State Fair’s Junior Market Livestock Auction.
Enbridge employees Nick Frankovich, Sara Gouin, Jay Crossley and Jerry Zellar help package and distribute 2,000 pounds of locally raised meat products, purchased by Enbridge, to six Michigan nonprofits.The annual auction provides young members of the local farming community the opportunity to exhibit and auction their livestock.
“The auction is a special Michigan tradition,” said Lauren Rickley, Michigan community engagement advisor.
“It’s a wonderful way for us to help address food insecurity while encouraging Michigan’s budding farmers.”
Enbridge employees and volunteers packaged boxes of beef, chicken, goat, lamb and pork. They delivered the packages to six not-for-profit organizations:
- St. Ignace Food Pantry
- Salvation Army, Sault Ste. Marie
- Cedarville Post Emergency Food Pantry
- Chippewa Luce Mackinac Community Action
- Lewiston Food Pantry
- Cheboygan Senior Center
The organizations provide food to those in Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula.
“Our employees and volunteers demonstrated a tremendous team effort in helping our communities and neighbors,” said Erica Fink, regional area operations manager for Enbridge Line 5 in Michigan.
“We appreciate our team for their commitment to supporting such a worthwhile, meaningful effort. We live and work here. This is our community. It’s important to make a difference where we can—helping young farmers and fighting food insecurity is vitally important for our community’s wellbeing.”
