The Rotary Club of Ann Arbor would like to thank the community and over 90 area businesses, organizations and schools who joined forces to help fight local hunger during the 7th Annual Rotate Your Food Canned Food Drive held March 15-27.

The Rotary Club of Ann Arbor joined forces with Rotary Clubs in Dexter, Saline and Ypsilanti to collect much-needed food for our local food rescue/food bank program -- Food Gatherers. The food collected will be distributed by Food Gatherers to the 160 plus nonprofit food assistance programs throughout Washtenaw County that benefit from their tireless work. These programs are on the front lines of battling hunger every day in our community. Rotary is very grateful for the outpouring of generosity from the community. As a result, we surpassed our goal by collecting 27,200 pounds of food -- a 70 percent increase over last year’s collection! This translates into more than 17,000 meals for our neighbors in need throughout our county. Special thanks to our top three gatherers this year: ProQuest, Ann Arbor Public Schools and Michigan Commerce Bank.

As a testament to the need, Food Gatherers distributes eight tons of food a day. Approximately 6,900 people receive emergency food assistance each week in our county -- a 73 percent increase in people served since 2006.

With the community’s support, Rotary continues to pursue its motto of “Service Above Self.” Thank you to all who contributed time, space, funds and food to make the drive a success for those individuals and families experiencing hunger in our own communities.

Beth Fitzsimmons President, Rotary Club of Ann Arbor