DRIVE FOR $25 

You may have heard that - depending on their shopping choices - Food Club members can get $100 or more worth of food and household items each month. It's true! Through our strong partnerships around the community and region we are able to offer lots of high-quality food to Mason County folks in need. But even with great partnerships in place, bringing in real, healthful food requires money. On average, each member household costs about $25, above and beyond the $10 membership fee, per month to support.

With upwards of 550 families coming through the doors every month, the costs add up quickly. That's why we're calling on Food Club supporters to consider sponsoring a local family through a monthly donation of $25. It's so easy to give a little and make a huge impact! To set up a monthly donation, visit our donations page (link below), and be sure to click "Make This A Monthly Donation" when you pledge your $25 gift.

GOURMET FOOD FOR ALL

For the past many months Gourmet Mushrooms has donated boxes of beautiful Mycopia mushrooms to Lakeshore Food Club members. What a treat! Read on to learn more about Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. 

The company was started by David Law in 1977 in Sebastopol, California. In 2014 the operation expanded to Scottville, and David Law partnered with local businessman Gary Mills. Why Scottville? Gourmet Mushrooms acquired an existing facility that had previously been a mushroom farm. After upgrading growing rooms and equipment, Gourmet Mushrooms began producing Michigan grown, organic, specialty mushrooms for the Midwest and east coast markets.

Seven varieties of mushrooms are grown in the Scottville farm. All the mushrooms are hand harvested, around 20,000 pounds a week. Primary customers are wholesalers and food service companies.

Pam Scharich and Stacy Lesausky, from the Sales and Logistics Department, are the Food Club’s contacts. They report Gourmet Mushroom’s donation is driven by the company’s desire to share the healthy benefits of mushrooms with the community - a perfect match with the Lakeshore Food Club’s values. The company employs 75-80 people at the Scottville location, and according to the ladies, "everyone is family here."

Volunteer Currents

WEST SHORE EDUCATIONAL SERVICE DISTRICT

During the school year you can find members of the Horizons class from West Shore ESD helping out around the Food Club on Wednesday afternoons. This awesome group jumps in to lend a hand with repacking, stocking, packing bags for the weekend backpack program, and everything in between! We spoke to teacher Rachel Grimes to learn more.

Q: Can you tell us about this class and why students work and volunteer as part of it? 

A: The Horizons Classroom is part of Westshore ESD. Students are ages 20-26. The goal of our program is for students to be independent, contributing members of their community. Volunteering at Lakeshore Food Club helps us build employability skills and students get a great experience volunteering.

Q: Are there any other aspects of the class that would be interesting for the LFC community to know?

A: Students participate in a variety of work experiences and community-based instruction. You might see us at America's Fitness Center (AFC), Family Video, McDonald's or Comfort Inn and lots of other places in the community!   

Q: Is there anything in particular students enjoy about coming to the Food Club?

A: Students love working the "bag machine." They enjoy seeing their finished work and being able to work independently. As a teacher I love that they are learning different skills. It is so much more than just volunteering. They learn math by weighing produce and to interact with community members. We are very grateful for the opportunity to volunteer at Lakeshore Food Club.