Gleaner's Biggest Fundraising Event Set for Thursday Evening

There may be just one winner in the competition Thursday evening, but everyone attending will be a winner because the proceeds will benefit the Gleaners Community Food Bank of Livingston County.

It is the biggest single fundraising event of the year for the local Gleaners, and the proceeds will benefit people in need of food and other assistance in the county, said Livingston County Program Director Michelle Ounanian.

The event will take place at from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Bordine's Greenhouse and Nursery, located at 6347 W. Grand River Ave., west of Brighton in Genoa Township. 

Tickets for the Iron Chef event, at $50 each, will be available at the door, which opens at 6 p.m. The price will include appetizers, desserts and drinks provided by area caterers and merchants.

The event will also include a silent auction, with proceeds also going to Gleaners.

The two competitors this year are Chef James McNulty of the in Brighton and Chef Tammy Young of Boomtown Kitchen + Tap at the Green Oak Village Place mall. The chefs will be required to create an appetizer, entrée and dessert with the "secret ingredient". 

The emcees include WDIV-TV anchor Steve Garagiola and Detroit News columnist Neal Rubin.

Judges include Steve Pilon, last year's winner, along with  Food Network Challenge champion Doug St. Souver, Jessica Mathews of WHMI-FM, Detroit News food writer Kate Lawson, John Utter of the Livingston Daily Press and Argus and local philanthropist Jeanette Berry.

The winner will receive the coveted Iron Chef trophy of an engraved cast iron skillet.  Last year, Gleaners realized about $70,000 from the event and Ounanian hopes to equal or exceed that amount this year. 

Ounanian said Gleaners is very dependent on the fundraiser because non-perishable food items are in particularly short supply now.

"This time is the driest season for donations," she said.

"Donations are very cyclical," adds Warehouse Food Coordinator Dave Bell. "Fill the Gazebo is held in May, with the Postal Service drive right after, but then things slow down," Bell said.

One exception occurred last Sunday, when 2/42 Community Church of Brighton leaders challenged the congregation to purchase food and other items for Gleaners. Members converged en masse on the Brighton store, walking out with enough goods to fill two large trucks.

"Meijer's never knew what hit them," said church member Kathleen Lloyd. Ounanian says the 8,300 pounds collected will be enough to feed 100 families of four for one month.  

"It was perfect timing," Ounanian says, remarking that although all items are down, items such as canned meat and stews, chili, macaroni & cheese, peanut butter, soup, cereal and canned fruit are in particularly short supply.   

Personal hygiene items such as toothbrushes, tooth paste,  shampoo and diapers are also very low right now. 

Gleaners, in partnership with the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency (OLHSA), also operates the Shared Harvest Food Pantry, located at 5924 Sterling Drive, off Dorr Road between Brighton and Howell. There, individuals may pick out food and other items for their own pantry right off the store shelves. 

Gleaners serves about 3,000 people or 1,300 families per month, half of them children or senior citizens. Every dollar donated provides three meals. Ninety-five percent of every dollar donated is spent on food distribution or food programs, and only five percent is spent on overhead.

Ounanian says the growth rate in numbers of clients has slowed, with signs of improvement in the Michigan economy. However, the need continues unabated.

"10-12 per cent of our families have never been here before," Ounanian says. Many clients are seeking assistance for the first time because one or more family members has lost a job, she says.   

Gleaners is a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency, and as such, donations are tax-deductible. Donors may contribute online by going to gcfb.org or by calling 1-866-GLEANER.