The organizations packed food and distributed meals around Detroit with help from AAA – The Auto Club Group, Lineage Foundation for Good, Delta Air Lines and North Bay Produce
DETROIT – The Detroit Lions and Meijer helped tackle food insecurity this Thanksgiving by teaming up with Gleaners Community Food Bank to pack and distribute 5,000 meal kits to local families. Meijer and the Detroit Lions were also joined by AAA – The Auto Club Group (ACG), Lineage Foundation for Good, Delta Air Lines and North Bay Produce to help package the kits that equate to more than 158,000 meals.
Throughout the month leading up to Thanksgiving, Meijer alongside Detroit Lions players and staff were joined by volunteers from ACG, Lineage, Delta Air Lines and Gleaners to pack meal kits at Gleaners’ distribution center in Taylor, Michigan. The packages – which were filled with ingredients provided by Meijer, Lineage and ACG – included green beans, corn, walnuts, fruit, stuffing, potatoes, mac and cheese, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy and corn muffin mix, as well as a 3-lb. bag of fresh apples provided by North Bay Produce. Each recipient also received a turkey provided by Meijer and a 10-lb. bag of potatoes provided by Gleaners.
“As we celebrate our annual tradition of Thanksgiving football in Detroit, we continue to recognize that this day is so much more than what happens at Ford Field. We know that there are many individuals who don’t always know where their next meal will come from, and we stay committed to helping alleviate some of that stress, especially during a time of year that prompts us to gather around a dinner table,” said Detroit Lions Principal Owner and Chair Sheila Hamp. “Putting our resources together with Meijer, we are so grateful for our collaborative partnerships, including Gleaners Community Food Bank, Lineage, AAA, Delta Air Lines, and North Bay Produce, to help provide meals for our community so that we can ensure as many local families as possible will have a warm meal on their plate this Thanksgiving.”
“We’re grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Detroit Lions and Gleaners Community Food Bank to support families in need this holiday season,” said Melissa Conway, Director, Community Partnerships & Giving at Meijer. “At Meijer, our purpose is to enrich lives in the communities we serve, and by coming together to pack and distribute these meal kits, we’re helping ensure those experiencing food insecurity can celebrate with a nutritious meal and feel the support from their community.”
The majority of meal kits were distributed at 10 Gleaners mobile distribution sites in Southeastern Michigan between November 14 through November 23. The Lions, Lineage and Delta Air Lines also gathered at Detroit Lions Academy on November 20 to distribute a portion of the packages to the students’ families, while volunteers from ACG and Meijer passed out 1,000 meals kits at the ACG Dearborn Headquarters on November 18.
“Thanksgiving is a time for sharing and togetherness, with so many of our traditions and celebrations centered around food,” said Angela Halverson, director of community giving for Gleaners. “Collaborations like this one show how much stronger we are when we work as one team to solve hunger in our communities. We’re grateful for the grit and generosity of the Detroit Lions, Meijer, AAA, Lineage Foundation for Good, Delta Air Lines and North Bay Produce at this important time of year for our neighbors.”
The Lions will play their 85th annual Thanksgiving Day Classic against the Chicago Bears on November 28 (kickoff 12:30 PM ET).
For video and photo of both the meal packing and distribution events, click HERE.
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ABOUT MEIJER
Meijer is a privately owned, family-operated retailer that serves customers at more than 500 supercenters, grocery stores, neighborhood markets, and express locations throughout the Midwest. As the pioneer of the one-stop shopping concept, more than 70,000 Meijer team members work hard to deliver a friendly, seamless in-store and online shopping experience featuring an assortment of fresh foods, high-quality apparel, household essentials, and health and wellness products and services. Meijer is consistently recognized as a Great Place to Work and annually donates at least 6 percent of its profit to strengthen its communities. Additional information on the company can be found by visiting newsroom.meijer.com.
ABOUT GLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK
Headquartered in Detroit, Gleaners serves five Southeast Michigan counties: Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, and Monroe. Gleaners provides food to nearly 350 partner agencies, including schools, soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and others across the region, and supplements the efforts of those partners by offering direct-service, drive-up grocery distributions. In its fiscal year 2024, Gleaners distributed more than 53 million pounds of food. Every dollar donated provides three meals, and 92 percent of our expenses directly support our neighbors facing hunger. For more information, visit gcfb.org.
ABOUT AAA – THE AUTO CLUB GROUP
The Auto Club Group (ACG) is the second largest AAA club in North America with more than 13 million members across 14 U.S. states and two U.S. territories. ACG and its affiliates provide members with roadside assistance, insurance products, banking and financial services, travel offerings and more. ACG belongs to the national AAA federation with more than 64 million members in the United States and Canada. AAA’s mission is to protect and advance freedom of mobility and improve traffic safety. For more information, get the AAA Mobile app, visit AAA.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
ABOUT LINEAGE FOUNDATION FOR GOOD
The Lineage Foundation for Good (the “Foundation”) is the independent philanthropic arm of Lineage. Stacked with unique cold chain expertise and strategic relationships a plenty, the Foundation is bridging the hunger gap across the world and in our local communities – and everyone is invited to be a part of it. No one likes to see food go to waste, especially while people go hungry. That’s why Lineage Foundation for Good is stepping up to find second chances for surplus food. Our mission is to develop a dynamic, real-time and global link between those who commercially produce our food and the individuals, families and communities who need it most. We know the issue of food waste and insecurity is a global one that is also felt close to home – and with our collective of customers, volunteers and donation partners all around the world, our impact can reach further. In other words, there’s nowhere for hunger and food waste to hide.
ABOUT DELTA AIR LINES
Through exceptional service and the power of innovation, Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) never stops looking for ways to make every trip feel tailored to every customer. There are 100,000 Delta people leading the way to deliver a world-class customer experience on over 4,000 daily flights to more than 290 destinations on six continents, connecting people to places and to each other.
Delta served more than 190 million customers in 2023 – safely, reliably and with industry-leading customer service innovation – and was recognized by J.D. Power this year for being No. 1 in First/Business and Premium Economy Passenger Satisfaction. The airline also was again recognized as North America’s most on-time airline by Cirium. Delta remains committed to ensuring that the future of travel is connected, personalized and enjoyable. Delta’s people’s genuine and enduring motivation is to make every customer feel welcomed and cared for across every point of their journey. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta operates significant hubs and key markets in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Bogota, Boston, Detroit, Lima, London-Heathrow, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK and LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Santiago (Chile), Sao Paulo, Seattle, Seoul-Incheon and Tokyo. As the leading global airline, Delta’s mission to connect the world creates opportunities, fosters understanding and expands horizons by connecting people and communities to each other and to their own potential.
ABOUT THE DETROIT LIONS
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL) and play their home games at Ford Field in downtown Detroit. The team relocated to Detroit in 1934 and is the NFL’s fifth oldest franchise. The Detroit Lions’ most recent NFL postseason appearance was the NFC Championship game following a 12-5 record and an NFC North title during the 2023 season. For more information, please visit www.detroitlions.com.
