Jun 02, 2020
“Serve is what I do,” said Post Commander Kimberly Napoleon of VFW Post 9931 in Bridgeport, Michigan.
The Post is working with a number of community partners to make sure no one goes hungry during the pandemic. They have teamed up with Feeding America, a nationwide network of local food banks, to help distribute food in the Saginaw area.
“The call went out from several local affiliate outlets that the need for food was going to be much greater than the usual monthly volunteer staff could handle,” Napoleon said.
“As a veteran and community servant, I truly believe we’re all in this together, and together we can help with distribution and provide food to people who are most at risk of facing hunger.”
The distribution effort helps people in need stock grocery staples such as frozen food, fresh produce, milk, juice and a variety of dry goods. The distribution events take place no matter the weather and sites have cloth masks, hand sanitizers and gloves for safety.
Distribution centers are estimating that 250-300 families are served by each site. There have been 15 events so far and more are planned.
“Many recipients show great appreciation and many are visiting the donation sites for the first time,” said Napoleon.
Napoleon and the Post’s Homeless Veteran Chairperson also are working with the Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center in Saginaw to provide food bi-weekly to the local known homeless veteran population.
“One of the VFW pillars is helping veterans in need and another is community involvement,” Napoleon said. “If ever there was a time to demonstrate our organizational mission, that time is now.”