Mayor presents Fish & Loaves with hefty donation

Mayor Tim Woolley presented Stephanie McNees, the director of the Downriver Fish & Loaves Community Food Pantry, with a check for $165,000 on Wednesday, September 23. Also on hand were members of the organization's board of directors, volunteers, City Council and staff of the City of Taylor.

The money came from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) HUD/COVID-19 funds. CDBG funds are allocated by the federal program to states, cities and counties to support housing, infrastructure and economic development benefiting low- and moderate-income residents.

CDBG was created under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and is one of the longest-running development funding sources. Members of the Fish & Loaves community were ecstatic about the donation, as was the mayor.

"We know that your organization will find a great use for the money," the mayor said.

Fish & Loaves is the go-to provider of food and grocery items for the needy in the City of Taylor - 41percent of its clients are residents. Fish & Loaves is one of the largest client-choice food pantries in Michigan. Clients choose from a wide variety of fresh produce, dairy, bread, frozen meat, canned goods and shelf-stable items. The client-choice model reduces food waste and improves food distribution.

Last year, Fish & Loaves distributed 3.5 million pounds of food, served over 90,000 people and its volunteers donated 25,000 hours to the cause.

Located at 25670 Northline Road, it is open from 9-noon and 1-7 p.m. on Mondays; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and is closed on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The location also holds a "Fresh Market" distributing fresh produce between 9-noon on Saturday (except for the third Saturday of each month).