KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A West Michigan nonprofit that was feeding frontline workers during the pandemic is saying farewell after hitting a milestone.
After over 14 months of delivering meals to frontline workers, Feed the Fight Kalamazoo has hit a milestone. They have raised around $100,000 to deliver just under 10,000 meals.
With COVID cases dropping and vaccination rates increasing, the nonprofit figured it was the perfect time to bid farewell.
"Never in a million years though did we believe we would be doing this for almost 15 months," said Feed the Fight Kalamazoo Co-Founder Jodi Michaels.
When Feed the Fight Kalamazoo started up last April, they only thought they'd be delivering meals to frontline workers for a few months.
"The restaurants were completely shutdown. We had curbside pickup. I don’t know that any of us in the early days of this pandemic would have imagined more than a year later we would still be where we are," said Michaels.
During that time, Feed the Fight Kalamazoo raised around $100,000 to purchase meals from 107 local restaurants. With that, they delivered 9,941 meals.
Feed the Fight Kalamazoo is bidding farewell as vaccinations ramp up, COVID case numbers drop and a donation milestone has been reached.
— Lauren Kummer (@LaurenKummerTV) June 23, 2021
The nonprofit has been feeding frontline workers since last April and made one of their final deliveries this afternoon. @FOX17 pic.twitter.com/3EXXStuA5Z
The nonprofit didn't realize the impact they would have not only on healthcare workers but also the restaurants they were purchasing from.
"I know it has been meaningful for some restaurants. This really helped make the rent at the end of the month. For the healthcare workers, they felt appreciated," said Michaels.
Huey D's Goodies has helped since the begining, delivering their fourth and final treats to the Family Health Center on Thursday.
"It has been a fun ride. I have always been down for giving back and helping people within our community, so it was a very unique privilege to help out," said Huey D's Goodies Owner Demargeo White.
In addition, the nonprofit received over 350 individual donations and had dozens of volunteers help out to make it all possible.
"We’re thrilled that we’ve had so many people step up to be part of this effort and we are saying a sweet farewell as we hope vaccinations go up, people are safe and someday we can move into a post COVID world," said Michaels.
Feed the Fight Kalamazoo has two final deliveries planned. One of those is scheduled for Thursday to Bronson Methodist, and the other to the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department. A date has not been scheduled for the second delivery.
