REDFORD, Mich. – A nonprofit that helps feed hundreds of Metro Detroit families each week is asking the community for help — not for food, but for a truck.
Eagles Helping Hands, which runs food rescue pick-ups and free community distributions, says it is in critical need of a dock-height box truck to keep operations moving efficiently.
Leaders say they’re currently relying on a rental truck to collect and deliver donated food several times a week, a stopgap that’s costing the organization more than $1,000 per week.
“We reach a lot of people in our community,” said Jillian Mauney with Eagles Helping Hands.
Multiple times a week, volunteers set up behind Thurston High School in Redford, where community members line up for a variety of free groceries.
“When we first open, we have a big crowd. So the food does go fast,” Mauney said.
The group says demand is rising as more families struggle to afford groceries.
“Food insecurity, especially in this area, has been growing and growing,” said Melissa Pionessa with Eagles Helping Hands.
Eagles Helping Hands says a dock-height truck would help with two major issues:
- Accessing larger donations: Some donation partners require a dock-height vehicle to load food.
- Reducing physical strain and delays: Without the right truck, volunteers — many of them seniors — often have to load and unload by hand, and the organization may need to make multiple trips, slowing distribution.
“Every week we’re paying over $1,000 to be able to operate,” Mauney said. “Some of our partners that we pick up from require a dock height truck for us to be able to receive the donations.”
Pionessa said having the right truck would be a major turning point for the nonprofit.
“It would be a huge game changer,” Pionessa said. “It would save so much money. We’d be able to get the food here faster for us to get it passed out faster.”
The nonprofit says it’s working to raise about $45,000 toward the purchase of a truck and is encouraging donations of any size.
Mauney said a challenge grant from the Margaret Dunning Foundation will match up to $25,000, helping the organization get closer to its goal.
“They have promised to match $25,000,” she said. “So, getting $45,000 would put us right at getting a new truck.”
More information about the fundraiser is available here or on the group’s Facebook page.