VBT receives $5,000 from Enbridge, donates it to three local food banks

On May 27 Van Buren Township received a $5,000 grant from Enbridge as part of its Emergency Response Fund.
The township turned the grant over to three local food banks: Belleville First United Methodist Church’s Emergency Food Closet, Trinity Episcopal Church’s Friday Fill-Up! and Van Buren Public Schools’ Owen Community Closet and Food Pantry.
“I’m grateful we received another grant to feed our community,” said VBT Trustee Reggie Miller. “This time, I choose to divide the funds up to help the largest amount of people as soon as possible. It’s about partnering with our community organizations to help meet their demands while helping as many people as we can. I want to thank Candice Braddock from Enbridge for offering us this opportunity.”
These are the food banks chosen:
• Belleville First United Methodist Church-Emergency Food Closet,
(734) 697-9288, 417 Charles St., Belleville. Open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
https://www.bellevillefirstumc.org/
• Owen’s Community Closet and Food Pantry, (734) 697-8711, 45201 Owen St., Belleville. Open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays.
https://www.facebook.com/OwensCommunityClosetandFoodPantry/
• Trinity Episcopal Church, Friday Fill-Up! (734) 699-3361, 11575 Belleville Rd., Van Buren Township. Open from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.
www.trinitybell.org
“I want to thank Trustee Reggie Miller for all her hard work in securing another grant and the board for continuing to take care of our community,” said VBT Supervisor Kevin McNamara.
Supervisor McNamara said the township decided to donate to these three local food banks to reach everyone in need. Through research, they found within the last 10 weeks the Belleville Emergency Food Closet has served 60-70% senior citizens, Owen’s focus has remained on students who are still in school or of school age, and the Trinity Friday Fill-Up is serving students and single families. All of these food pantries have seen large increases of those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want to thank the food pantry directors for their continued dedication and making sure our community is fed,” said Trustee Miller. “Thank you, Gabby Burton from Trinity, Marilyn Wood at the Emergency Food Closet, and Pete Kudlak superintendent for Van Buren Public Schools.”
“A thriving community provides opportunities to support and enrich the lives of its people,” said Mike Moeller, director of Great Lakes Region Enbridge. “By collaborating with community leaders like Van Buren Township, we’re proud to support this initiative and energy to champion community solutions in our key focus areas of safety, environment, and community.”
Those with needs or questions may call (734) 699-8910 or email [email protected].
Follow Enbridge on social media at @Enbridge. News release