Metro Detroit nonprofit helps feed families experiencing food insecurity
(CBS DETROIT) - There is no other place Luisa Puentas would rather be than here.
"I actually drove two hours to be here today," she said.
Her appetite to want to help people in need is why she became a volunteer at Forgotten Harvest.
"I'm from Columbia, and I lived in Venezuela, so I come from South America, and I've seen a lot of poverty in my life, and I've seen a lot of people go hungry," Puentas said.
Puentas joined dozens of others at the nonprofit's facility in Oak Park.
It was an all-hands-on-deck effort with the mission of helping families experiencing food insecurity.
Not too long ago, pandemic relief benefits that provided families extra SNAP benefits, otherwise known as food stamps, ended, making the issue of poverty even more prevalent.
"We have over 20,000 volunteers that come help Forgotten Harvest every year," said Christopher Ivey with Forgotten Harvest.
Ivey says the volunteers play a crucial role in helping feed over 650,000 Metro Detroiters who are hungry or food insecure.
"This doesn't happen. It just doesn't happen without the support of the community," Ivey said.
The volunteers sort through a total of nearly 150,000 pounds of food per day. Fruit, vegetables, and other items are prepared and packaged before it's sent off to one of 200 pantries in Metro Detroit.
The food is delivered directly to the community.
At a mobile pantry on Michigan Avenue in Detroit, cars lined up to get boxes of food.
The need is apparent with Theresa Davis saying it means to world to her because she's on a fixed income.
"I feel very grateful that God has provided for people to give food for us to eat or people who can't get out or get something to eat," Davis said.
The appreciation that Davis has for the nonprofit is why volunteering at Forgotten Harvest was so important for Puentas. The impact it has on families is what made a two-hour drive well worth it.
"This day made my day, my week, my month [and] my year," Puentas said.
For more information about Forgotten Harvest, you can visit their website here.