KENT COUNTY, Mich. — A local nonprofit received one of its largest donations ever Thursday.
The Grand Rapids chapter of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated 18 pallets of dry goods to North Kent Connect, a one-stop resource hub that helps individuals and families.
The church estimates 25,000 meals can be made from the food given.
“We have a large network of disaster relief that we try to provide across the country,” said Neal Buckwalter, president of the Grand Rapids congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “When those resources are not used or fully utilized in various settings, what remains becomes an opportunity to distribute around the country and we sought the opportunity to do that here in our community.”
North Kent Connect distributed the dry goods, which included items like corn, beans and flour, to eight area food banks. The nonprofit’s executive director, Claire Guisfredi, called the donation a “blessing.”
“It just shows that we're in this together. People support each other, people care about other people, and they want people to be able to thrive in these challenging economic times,” said Guisfredi.
