Pha Burns does the cooking in his family and on Thanksgiving Day he will be serving either a roasted turkey with candy yams, greens and cornbread or a batch of his famous seafood lasagna.
He makes them both for the holidays.
“They just don’t know what it’s going to be,” mused the parishioner and volunteer at Covenant Missionary Temple, while waiting to open the Forgotten Harvest mobile food pantry that the church operates out of its parking lot every second and fourth Friday of the month.
“Two weeks from now we’ll be handing out holiday boxes,” Burns said of the special food items that have been assembled so that everyone can enjoy a holiday meal like his family will.
Now through Dec. 13, Forgotten Harvest mobile pantries will be giving away Hope for the Holidays — food boxes for people in need. Thanks to a partnership between Kroger Co. of Michigan and the Lineage Foundation for Good, Forgotten Harvest this seasonal initiative will help nearly 12,000 needy households.
“It’s our way of doing a little bit extra for the holiday season,” said Chis Ivey, director of marketing and communications for Forgotten Harvest. “We’ve been doing different versions of the campaign for over 10 years.”
Those in need range from seniors on fixed incomes and working families trying to make ends meet to college students with no means of support. According to Forgotten Harvest there are an estimated 612,000 people in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties facing food insecurity, and about 180,000 of them are children. Throughout the year, Forgotten Harvest provides those in need with access to fresh fruit and nutritious food, working through a network of 220 pantry partners like Covenant Missionary Temple. However, there’s some staples to holiday meals that may be missed in regular food distributions.
That’s where Hope for the Holidays comes in.
At this time of year Forgotten Harvest partners with generous donors to create food boxes packed with meat, potatoes, onions, apples, milk, eggs, flour stuffing, gravy, candies and all the fixings of a nice holiday meal. Each box of both fresh and shelf stable food items comes with a recipe card, courtesy of United Dairy Industry of Michigan (UDIM), to make holiday-themed dishes with the included food items.
“The holiday season embodies the spirit of inclusion and togetherness, and food lies at the heart of countless cherished holiday traditions,” said Cam Barrett, Corporate Affairs Manager for the Kroger Co. of Michigan. “Through this impactful partnership with Forgotten Harvest, together we are helping to ensure that 12,000 families across Southeast Michigan have their rightful seat at the table, allowing them the opportunity to craft their very own holiday memories that will last a lifetime.”
Marsha Hazen concurred.
“Rising food prices and inflation has made 2023 a stressful year for many families in Metro Detroit,” said Hazen, a program officer for the Lineage Foundation for Good. “With family budgets feeling increasingly stretched, the Lineage Foundation for Good is proud to support Forgotten Harvest’s Hope for the Holidays because it not only provides families facing food insecurity a holiday meal box but also offers a sense of peace to what can be a stressful time of year.”
Making some of the deliveries this holiday season will be Floyd Robertson.
“It’s nice to be able to help our communities,” said Robertson, a truck driver for Forgotten Harvest who sees the volunteers as the backbone of their mission. “Those people over there,” he said, pointing to Burns and his group. “They are the ones who make this all possible.”
Ivey pointed out the need for volunteers is always great, as is the need for food.
“We really strive to get volunteers to keep our mission going,” Ivey said, noting that the greatest need always follows the holiday giving season.
Among the parishioners helping Burns was Brenda Fulton.
“We’ve been doing this for about 12 years now,” said Fulton, noting the number of people needing assistance seems to be rising again. During the pandemic mobile food pantries were recording twice and even triple the number of people they normally serve.
On this day they expected between 150 and 200 cars.
“Some of these people have been here since 9 a.m.,” said Kayla Lombardo of Roseville and a volunteer with Live Rite Structured Recovery Center. “I wasn’t a very productive member of the community for a long time and this is my way of giving back. I’ve been doing it since March and it feels great.”
Lombardo said she’s been told by some that this is the only food they get.
She knows this because, like many volunteers, greets those in line with a cheerful smile and nod of approval knowing that they themselves could find themselves in a mobile food pantry line.
“I think that we not only minister the physical needs of people but also their spiritual needs,” Fulton said. “I just thank God that we’re able to do this.”
Food program resources
Forgotten Harvest will be delivering its free holiday food boxes to its mobile food pantry partners now through Dec. 13.
For a list of Forgotten Harvest mobile pantries, visit forgottenharvest.org/find-food .
Additional help finding food can be found by visiting pantrynet.org, findhelp.org or by calling a community care advocate at 2-1-1 for help with food, shelter, medical assistance, and more.
Covenant Missionary Temple will be distributing its holiday food boxes on Nov. 21 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the parking lot adjacent to the church at 28491 Utica Rd., in Roseville.
Forgotten Harvest is exceedingly grateful to the donors and sponsors who help provide Hope for the Holidays. Thank you to A.L. Johnson & Sons, Fresh Connect Central, Hatch for Hunger, Michigan Dairy, Riveridge Produce Marketing, Second Nature Brands, Sunrise Acres Egg Farm, United Dairy Industry of Michigan, USDA, and Valley Farms for their generous participation.
For information about volunteer opportunities visit forgottenharvest.org