ADRIAN — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported that one in eight Americans face food insecurity nationwide. More and more members of the Lenawee County community are turning to local food pantries for help in ensuring they have ample food for their next meal. The St. Vincent de Paul food pantry in Adrian has seen a continued increase in requests for food by individuals and families.

To help respond, the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry is receiving an additional large donation from Meijer this year. Meijer recently surpassed $100 million donated to food pantries through the Meijer Simply Give hunger relief program. 

The Simply Give program helps more than 600 food pantries in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Wisconsin feed hungry families by giving them food-only gift cards to help keep their shelves stocked. The program fosters a sense of community by encouraging Meijer customers to add a $10 Simply Give donation cards to their carts at checkout. These are combined with equal and double matches by Meijer and then converted into the Meijer food-only cards and given to the local food pantries that participate in the program.

The Adrian St. Vincent de Paul food pantry, located at the St. Joseph Campus of Holy Family Parish, will benefit from donation cards purchased at the Adrian Meijer through Dec. 27. On Dec. 13, Meijer will double-match contributions, meaning they will contribute an additional $20 for each $10 donation card a customer adds to their cart on that day.