Food Gatherers is the Food Bank and Food Rescue Program serving Washtenaw County. Every fall, Community High School Forums and students join together and raise funds to help Food Gatherers feed the 44,500 people in our area that rely on local emergency pantries, meal programs and other distributions of healthy food to feed themselves and their families. Donations made to Community High School's fundraising campaign are tax deductible, and we have a generous matching pledge from Harold and Kay Peplau, who will match your donations dollar-per-dollar up to $50,000.
Help Community High School feed our Community! Food Gatherers serves the equivalent of 14,000 meals every day in Washtenaw County, where 1 in 7 people are food-insecure. Food Gatherers is committed to healthy eating: 60% of food distributed is protein or fresh produce.
Food Gatherers is committed to reducing waste: last year, around 40% of the 6.4 million pounds of food distributed was rescued food from local food businesses, which otherwise would have ended up in landfills.
And Food Gatherers is working to eliminate the causes of hunger in our community, with programs like the Community Kitchen Job Training Program, which trains low-income and at-risk youth with instruction in basic culinary arts, cooking techniques, work ethics, and life skills. Students receive instruction from guest chefs, take field trips to local restaurants to experience global cuisines, and hear from guest speakers in the fields of personal finance, small business management, and nutrition. To date, 167 students have graduated, and 90% of students are employed or in school within 90 days of graduation.
Community High School recognizes the necessary and impactful role that Food Gatherers has in our Community: Join us and help us fight hunger where we live!