School lunches play such a large part in students nutrition, but what happens during the summer months? That’s when Forgotten Harvest comes in.
Forgotten Harvest is dedicated to relieving hunger in Metro Detroit and it’s the incredible volunteers like Jalil Ahmad that really make this organization successful.
“Jalil, he’s become our Forgotten Harvest baby,” Telisha Coleman said. “We take care of him, you know, he doesn’t live that far from here and when he graduated from high school he was more so just at home.”
Forgotten Harvest is a lifeline for so many families facing food insecurity in Metro Detroit.
“We have so many people in metro area that don’t get the nutritious meals they need,” Coleman said. “They’re packing sandwiches, 100,000 sandwiches each summer for the kids who doesn’t get lunches, you know they’re not in school.”
And out of the thousands of amazing volunteers Jalil Ahmed stands out.
“I come here, I can help, I have the opportunity to help other people,” Ahmed said. “I can help support other people.”
Ahmed selflessly donates his time at Forgotten Harvest everyday. He was born deaf but found many ways to communicate with the many volunteers.
“He comes in, he does basically whatever we need,” Coleman said. “He packs the food, and we’re trying to get him to go on one of the trucks to you know, see where to food goes, the process after it leaves this building.”
It’s his giving heart and spirit that’s inspiring others to volunteer – and bringing back volunteers young and old from all over.
“They’re great because for one, it’s not like they’re committing a service or anything like that, they don’t have to be here, they just come in and they feel good about what it is that they’re doing,” Coleman said.
Forgotten Harvest is always looking for donations and volunteers, you can find out how to help on their website.
