Eaton Rapids has options for those who need food or want to donate

Joanne Williams
Editor

(photo by Joanne Williams/TCJ – A resident donates to the community food pantry located outside of DeLong Realty on Main Street.)

The need for food by those who are living on the edge will not go away. Each community has residents who face this challenge daily.

In Eaton Rapids, there are places to help, including local spots that sport food pantries.

Outside DeLong Realty on a recent Saturday morning, a person stopped and chose a few items just minutes before a young woman stopped to stock the wooden pantry with her donation. “If you can’t use it, give it to somebody else,” she said. “We need to help the community.”

As Jen Sarafin reported on the Eaton Rapids Community Connection on Facebook, “We made stops at DeLong Realty, City Consignment, Millers and the Senior Center.”

Donna Mark Jeffrey also wrote on Facebook, “Was in town about 2:15 this afternoon and 2 gallons of milk and 4, 1-lb boxes of butter was being added to the DeLong Pantry.”

Often, residents write posts like this to alert others to recent perishable food donations.

In addition to these sites, Heart and Hands Food Pantry is open Tuesdays from  4 to 6 p.m., and Wednesday and Thursday from  9 a.m. to noon, located at 6463 S. Clinton Trail. This non-profit is often a recipient of Meijer’s Simply Give program.

A monthly Greater Lansing Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry arrives at the high school, 805 Greyhound Drive at 10 in the morning on the fourth Saturday of each month. Registration begins at 8 a.m.

Sharing Grace, through Thrive Church, 6044 S. Clinton Trail, offers free meals each Wednesday at the church, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The St. Vincent De Paul conference at St. Peter Catholic Church is also available to assist those in need. Hours are Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the clothing closet, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for food, at the church, 515 E. Knight St., or by calling 517-920-0704.