Cereal Drive June 3 – 10

Give to Our Cereal Drive

For the past 12 years the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Professional Nurse Council at the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) has partnered with Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan to lead a community effort to provide children with a consistent daily meal over summer recess.

Now more than ever, kids in Southeast Michigan need access to healthy breakfast options throughout the summer. Over the last eleven years, together, we have raised more than 11 million servings of cereal.

We’re asking for you to help us improve the lives and the health of our community’s children. Collected cereal will be donated to Gleaners Community Food Bank, who will distribute the cereal collection to children and their families over the summer.

“At the Children’s Hospital of Michigan we see firsthand the impact food insecurity has on children’s health. The hospital does not just treat sick or injured children; we work to keep the children and families in our community healthy, and your support is appreciated now more than ever,” said Kathy Donovan, MSN, NE-BC, Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

“Kids need healthy, wholesome food not just some of the time but all of the time, and especially in the summer when local children are at risk of hunger,” said Gerald Brisson, Gleaners president and CEO. “We are grateful to the Children’s Hospital of Michigan’s nurses and staff for the incredible efforts that go into the Annual Cereal Drive to support Gleaners and our hungry neighbors at this critical time of year.”

The 13th Annual Cereal Drive will kick off June 3 and runs through June 10. All virtual donations will go to Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan to support the community wherever the need is greatest this year. To donate, click here.

Child Hunger In Our Community

• It is estimated that In Michigan more than 552,000 children were food insecure in 2020.
• It is estimated that in 2020, 1.9 million people in Michigan experienced food insecurity over the next year.
• In southeast Michigan, more than 305,000 children receive free or reduced-price meals in school. When school recesses for the summer, these children are vulnerable to undernourishment and hunger.
• Why cereal? Cereal is an important food item for our food distributions. Cereal is an expensive item for Gleaners to purchase for distribution, yet it is also one of the items in highest demand. Cereal is a food that needs no preparation, is easily stored, and is well-liked by children.
• Gleaners continues to respond to increased need through more than 600 community partners and dozens of community mobiles.
• Gleaners distributed a record-breaking 71 million pounds of food in its 2021 fiscal year.
• Every dollar donated provides three meals and 94 cents of every donated dollar goes to food and food programs.