Representatives from Belding Wesco delivered a check in the amount of $11,749 to Belding Feeding America Mobile Food Bank on Jan. 20, providing the organization with enough funding to feed families throughout the entirety of 2023. — DN Photo | Cory Smith
BELDING — In a period of only three months, a fundraising effort by Belding Wesco has provided the Belding Feeding America Mobile Food Bank with enough funding for an entire year of feeding families in need throughout the community.
Good Jan 20, Belding Wesco Store Manager Dayna Cook presented a check in the amount of $11,749 to Belding Feeding America following the West Michigan gas station chain’s annual “Drive Out Hunger” campaign.
Belding High School sophomore Rylee McGowan, 15, places a bag of food items into the back of a truck during a Belding Feeding America Mobile Food Bank event at the high school on Jan. 20. — DN Photo | Cory Smith
“Our goal was $11,000, which is more than we raised last year,” Cook said. “We were close to hitting that goal ourselves, but with Wesco’s $1,000 match, we went over.”
Last year the store, which fundraises from October through December, raised $10,125, including the company’s $1,000 match.
“Wesco is serious about giving back to its local communities, that’s very important,” Cook said.
Cook stressed that the donations come change collection at cash registers at the Belding Wesco location and other customer donations, such as roundups.
“This is definitely a community donation — the match was $1,000 of the $11,000. So almost $11,000 was raised just from the community,” she said.
In accepting the check, Belding Feeding America Coordinator Alisha Hummel said the funds are enough to provide food for the community throughout the entirety of 2023.
“This donation is enough to pay for a whole year’s worth of bringing in food from the truck,” she said. “The rest of the funds will go towards other area food banks. It is awesome. The community is the one that raised all that money and they’ve done that for several years now.”
With Belding Area Schools Feeding America Mobile Food Bank now being in its eighth year, Hummel said the service is available for anyone who needs it on the third Friday of every month, typically at 4:30 pm, in the lower parking lot of Belding High School.
“We have about 100 families that come every month,” she said. “Usually we take any leftovers up to the migrant camps, especially in the summer months.”
A schedule of Feeding America distributions in Ionia can be found at feedwm.org online.
