Aldi Store #41, located in Escanaba, Michigan, was recently recognized for contributing to Feeding America West Michigan’s record-setting 2019, with over 6.25 million meals rescued from over their 100 retail partners across the state. In 2019, Escanaba’s Aldi’s Store #41 donated 4,634 meals to the Bay College Food Pantry.
Aldi has partnered with the Bay College Food Pantry, a Feeding America member, since its inception in 2017. Aldi’s donates overstock, short-dated items, or products with lightly damaged packaging to the pantry for student use, and Bay College picks up the items multiple times a week. Aldi’s states that this allows them to “positively impact [their] local communities through food donations while also supporting [their] goals to limit environmental impact by reducing waste.”
During this record-setting year, Aldi’s manager Avery Hamlin and TRiO student Kaitlin Halvorson, are recognized for their work and impact on the program. Halvorson performed all of the pick-ups for Bay College (typically three times a week), while store manager Hamlin and her staff pulled and prepared all of the items for pick-up.
Bay College has had a food pantry in operation since November 8, 2017 that helps to address food insecurity in the student community. The pantry is primarily staffed by TRiO Student Support Services student workers and interns and supervised by TRiO professional staff members. Beyond the pantry’s partnerships with Feeding America West Michigan and Aldi, public and private donations are also accepted and welcomed.
The Food Pantry’s Winter Semester hours are 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM on Mondays and Wednesdays and 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The pantry is located in the Student Center building next to the Bay College Bookstore on Escanaba’s campus.
To learn more about Bay College’s TRiO program or the Student Food Pantry, please Email TRiO at trio@baycollege.edu or call 906-217-4133.
