COMMUNITY FOOD CLUB O F G R E AT E R G R A N D R A P I D S !!!!!!!!!!!!January!28,!2015! We!are!happy!to!announce!that!the!Community!Food!Club!of!Greater!Grand!Rapids!has! opened!for!a!three@year!pilot!project!for!a!limited!group!of!member!households!who!are! served!by!the!seven!sponsoring!partner!agencies.!!The!Food!Club!is!a!collaborative!systemic! response!to!hunger!that!seeks!to!be!a!model!that!will!offer!low!and!moderate!income! persons!an!opportunity!to!be!engaged!with!improving!their!food!security!and!dignity!as! well!as!their!ability!to!make!a!range!of!choices!for!their!own!household.!While!membership! in!the!Club!is!initially!restricted!to!the!collaborating!agencies’!constituents,!we!invite!the! community’s!interest,!encouragement,!volunteer!and!financial!support!for!this!effort.! We!are!equally!pleased!to!announce!that!Holly!Anderson!has!been!hired!as!the!Food!Club’s! Program!Manager.!!Holly!comes!with!extensive!food!system!and!non@profit!organization! experience,!most!recently!as!Development!Coordinator!at!Kids!Food!Basket.!She!will! supervise!a!small!staff!and!the!many!volunteers!that!are!essential!to!this!effort.!!The! partners!in!the!Community!Food!Club!collaborative!are!Westminster!Presbyterian! Church/Downtown!Food!Pantry;!United!Church!Outreach!Ministry!(UCOM);!The!Salvation! Army!Social!Services;!Feeding!America—West!Michigan!Food!Bank;!Habitat!for!Humanity! of!Kent!County;!Access!of!West!Michigan;!and,!Home!Repair!Services,!which!serves!as! Fiduciary!and!Employer!of!Record!for!the!L3C!non@profit!corporation!that!has!been!formed.!! The!Food!Club!is!located!in!a!“re@purposed”!store!of!Home!Repair!Services!at!1100!South! Division,!Grand!Rapids.! The!Community!Food!Club!offers!an!opportunity!and!a!place!for!low!and!moderate!income! households!to!increase!their!food!security!and!to!improve!their!healthy!eating!by!accessing! nutritious!food!on!a!consistent!basis.!!It!is!a!place!for!persons!to!experience!increased!self@ reliance!and!respect.!!They!will!belong!to!this!Food!Club;!they!will!choose!whether!and! when!to!participate;!and!if!they!do,!they!will!invest!in!it!through!a!low!monthly!membership! fee!that!will!provide!nearly!a!quarter!of!the!Food!Club’s!annual!operating!budget.!!They!will! shop!without!additional!cost,!using!points!determined!by!their!household!size.! This!will!be!a!grocery!store@style!environment—open!convenient!hours,!six!days!a!week.!!It! is!a!place!where!members!will!select!their!own!food!items;!where!there!will!be!a!wide! selection!of!food;!and,!because!of!that!volume!and!availability,!they!will!be!able!to!choose! healthy!food!items!like!fruits!and!vegetables!on!a!regular!basis.!! Community Food Club of Greater Grand Rapids, L3C, is a wholly owned subsidiary and disregarded entity of Home Repair Services of Kent County, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, which also provides Employer of Record and Fiduciary services for the Food Club collaborative effort. 1100 South Division, Grand Rapids, MI 49507 ! The$Community$Food$Club$–$Page$2$ More!than!30!foundations,!organizations,!businesses!and!individuals!have!pledged!more! than!$930,000!and!additional!in;kind!services!to!“re;purpose”!and!operate!the!space!over! the!next!three!years,!as!an!attractive!and!welcoming!environment!with!plenty!of!healthy! food!choices.!!We!all!are!committed!to!good!stewardship!of!resources—including!the! building;!the!food!items!themselves;!and,!the!time!and!energy!of!hundreds!of!shoppers!and! volunteers!who!will!be!involved.!! The!collaborative!partners!are!trying!to!“think!big”!about!how!to!address!food!insecurity.!! We!hope!that!the!Food!Club!will!demonstrate!a!way!to!expand!the!capacity!of!the! community!food!system!as!well!as!to!promote!self;reliance!and!respect!for!all!low!and! moderate!income!households!who!choose!to!participate.!!We!invite!you!to!be!part!of!this! effort.!!! ! For!program!information!and!volunteer!opportunities,!please!contact:! Holly!Anderson!(616)!288;5550;[email protected]! www.communityfoodclubgr.org! ! ! ! For!media,!please!contact:! Rev.!David!Baak,!Chairperson,!Food!Club!Managers;!(616)!771;5544;[email protected]!! ! ! !