Cereal Drive Is Back Because Now More than Ever, Kids Need Breakfast

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

Now more than ever,

kids in Southeast Michigan need access to healthy breakfast options throughout the summer. Over the last 12 years, together, we have raised more than 11 million servings of cereal.

And this year, the Cereal Drive is back to filling buses and trucks with cereal so we can continue to help children eat this summer.

“At the Children’s Hospital of Michigan we understand the building block for every good outcome starts with getting access to nutrition,” said Kathy Donovan, MSN, NE-BC, Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Hospital of Michigan. “We see 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.”

“When school lets out, hunger sets in as children lose access to school meals during the summer months. This summer is especially difficult with skyrocketing grocery and gas prices causing even more hardship for families,” said Gerry Brisson, Gleaners president and CEO. “Gleaners is grateful for the longstanding partnership with the Children’s Hospital of Michigan to help take hunger off the breakfast table so children can grow and thrive.”

The 13th Annual Cereal Drive kicked off on June 3

and ran through June 10. All donations went to Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan to support the community wherever the need is greatest this year.

Simply visit ChildrensDMC.org/CerealDrive to help feed children in our community this summer or request assistance for your family or a child you know.

About the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, www.childrensdmc.org

For over 130 years, the Children’s Hospital of Michigan has been dedicated to providing high-quality care to children and adolescents in a caring, efficient and family-centered environment. With more than 40 pediatric medical and surgical specialty services, the hospital draws patients from nearly every Michigan County, 39 additional states, and 22 countries, annually and provides the highest level of pediatric specialty care available for children.  It is ranked as one of America’s best hospitals for children and sees more children than any hospital in the state.

About Gleaners Community Food Bank:

Headquartered in Detroit, Gleaners serves five Southeast Michigan counties: Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Monroe. Gleaners provides food to more than 600 partner agencies, including soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and others across the region, and supplements the efforts of those partners by offering direct service drive-up grocery distributions. In its fiscal year 2021, Gleaners distributed more than 71 million pounds of food to neighbors in need. Every dollar donated provides three meals, and 94 cents of every donated dollar goes to food and food programs. For more information, visit gcfb.org.

*Logo courtesy of Children’s Hospital of Michigan