Volunteers pack meal kits at SpartanNash's Helping Hands Day

Yahoo15-04-2025

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Hundreds of volunteers gathered in downtown Grand Rapids Tuesday, packing meals for disaster relief.
It's all part of SpartanNash's annual Helping Hands Day. This year, the company says it is donating $1.7 million worth of food and hygiene kits.
About 850 volunteers attended Tuesday's event at DeVos Place, including SpartanNash employees, vendor partners and students. They put together meal kits and loaded trucks.
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'We've got 15,000 meal boxes that we're preparing to feed a family of four for five days,' said Dawn Bredeweg, manager of charitable giving with SpartanNash.
She said the boxes include shelf-stable options like spaghetti, sauce, milk, cereal and canned protein.
The kits will be distributed by Convoy of Hope, a nonprofit that responds to disasters around the world.
'Last year, we packed up thousands of boxes just like today, and … we were able to give those boxes to hurricane survivors of Helene and Milton and it was just a huge blessing to them,' said Ethan Forhetz, national spokesperson for Convoy of Hope. 'This year, we're going to be ready for whatever disaster comes.'
Forhetz said Tuesday's work allows Convoy of Hope to respond quickly.
'Because of SpartanNash and all of these people doing all this great work today, Convoy of Hope is ready,' he said. 'When that bell rings and when the disaster strikes, we can immediately get these boxes on a truck and get them out to people who need them.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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