DETROIT, Mich. — As food costs continue to strain household budgets, a metro Detroit nonprofit is working to make sure 1,000 families have enough to eat through the Labor Day weekend.
Higher Hopes! distributed barbecue meal kits Thursday, sending families home with 20 pounds of chicken, watermelon, fresh produce, baked beans, macaroni, Famous Dave's barbecue sauce, Famous Dave's Rib Rub and even pet food.
Bill Birndorf founded Higher Hopes! 13 years ago with a focus on delivering Thanksgiving meal kits to Detroit families.
"And it was just to deliver and help families in Detroit with 1,000 full thanksgiving meal kits," Birndorf said.
WATCH: Higher Hopes! hands out Labor Day barbecue kits to feed 1,000 families through the holiday weekend
The organization has grown significantly over the past decade and now helps between 5,000 and 10,000 families each year with a variety of themed food kits.
"It gives people four days of food — Friday, Saturday, Sunday… and Labor Day," Birndorf said.
The Labor Day kits are designed with a specific population in mind: families with children enrolled in Head Start programs. Those children typically rely on school systems for meals and lose that access over the long weekend.
Volunteer Alycia Haskins said the kits give families access to things they might not otherwise have.
"Maybe things that they don't normally have access to, they have the opportunity to enjoy that together," Haskins said.
Haskins said her motivation is straightforward.
"Anything related to helping children and families, I'm all for," Haskins said.
Birndorf said the need is real and the work cannot be done without community support.
"There is a great need for help," Birndorf said.
Mary Woods-Miles, an engagement specialist with Starfish Family Services, was among the volunteers on hand. She said the effort is a collective one.
"It is an intentional village," Woods-Miles said.
Woods-Miles said volunteers stay until every box is distributed and the site is cleaned up. Having received support from her own community growing up, she said giving back is something her family prioritizes.
"My entire family, we like to give back," Woods-Miles said.
For the families receiving the kits, the help comes at a critical time. Daveia Martin, who was among those benefiting from the food distribution, said the gesture means a great deal.
"A long ways. With the economy and food being so expensive, everything is greatly appreciated," Martin said.
Ida Grant, who also received a kit, was pleased to receive the help.
"Oh, yes. It will help us out for the holiday," Grant said.
Birndorf said the mission is about more than food.
"It keeps the family together," Birndorf said.
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