Help Busch's Provide Food for Low-Income Families

"Healthy, happy kids means a healthy, happy community."

That's what Eunice Jeffries, executive director of the Farmington/Farmington Hills Foundation for Youth and Families, says about why the group collects food for children in need.

With the school year coming to a close, low-income families face the challenge of feeding their children without those lunches and breakfasts provided by schools.

Busch's Fresh Food Market in Farmington Hills and locations across southeast Michigan are teaming up with the foundation and other local food banks to host a food drive that focuses on families and children.

According to Doug Busch, Community Development Director for Busch's, the company launched the spring/summer drive three years ago after learning from a food bank that there is a great need for donations during the summer months.

"We've hosted a winter food drive for more than 30 years," Busch said. "But I never realized that the need for food is actually greater in the summer ... I learned that there are kids who don't get to enjoy summer break as much as others because they are missing the food that they get during the school year."

From May 6 to May 15, shoppers at Busch's can contribute to the "All aBout Children," or "ABC" Food Drive by donating cash, nonperishable food items and bottle and can return slips.

The donations will go to the FFH Foundation's Bountiful Backpack program, which provides children with food to take home with them over the weekend and over holiday breaks. This is the first year Busch's is parterning with the foundation.

"Kids are the cornerstone to any community," Jeffries said. "We appreciate this partnership with Busch's, which allows us to keep families in our community healthy, which in turn leads to a healthy community overall."

Busch's has raised more than $300,000 in cash and food donations during the past two years of this food drive.

Read more about how you can donate on Busch's Local Voices blog.