Cars, trucks, SUVs and vans were lined up for blocks for several hours today as families queued up for the 5th Annual Holiday Food Sharing program in Benton Harbor thanks to the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship team, Whirlpool Corporation and the Southwest Michigan Community Action Agency.
More than 400 families will be able to put a traditional Christmas turkey and all of the fixings on the table next week thanks to what has become a great tradition from those three partners who have grown to love taking part in the event each year at this time.
Traffic was skillfully directed to both sides of a large SWM Community Action Agency truck in the middle of a parking lot across from the agency’s warehouse at the end of the Miller Street cul de sac, as has become tradition after the event was moved from earlier years when it was hosted at City Center Park in downtown Benton Harbor. 
Championship Director Ryan Ogle from the PGA of America had his full team in position on one side the truck filling white U.S. Census 2020 reminder bags with many of the food items while others were slinging turkeys, sacks of potatoes, fresh fruits and more. Even he seemed amazed that it has already been five years, telling me, “It’s crazy to think that this is already our fifth year…the fifth anniversary of our holiday food sharing with the Southwest Michigan Community Action Agency and Whirlpool Corporation, and friends of ours from our title sponsor KitchenAid.” Ogle adds, “I’ll tell you what, we look forward to it now. It’s become an annual thing and with the system we have put in place, it’s fantastic, but most importantly, it’s a great way to give back to the communities that have given so much to us.”
Deb O’Connor from title sponsor KitchenAid and the Whirlpool team were also hard at work with a slew of volunteers doing more of the same work, and directing traffic through the lot, welcoming families, loading cars, and offering holiday wishes. She says, “This is our fifth year, I can’t believe it’s our fifth, but it’s beautiful outside, the sun is shining, there’s no ice on the ground and it will be great for everyone.”
O’Connor fully recognizes how critical the food sharing is for the local community, saying, “I think that this is a really big deal to a lot of people. It’s going to make Christmas and the rest of the holiday week so much better because they have the food that they need and Southwest Michigan Community Action Agency has done a fabulous job of making sure they get all of the food,” adding, “We’re just here to help distribute and say Merry Christmas to everyone, so it’s really easy for us, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Berrien County Commissioner Marletta Seats from Benton Harbor worked steadily from the moment she arrived, slinging boxes, packing bags, greeting people and more, always reminded of the need that goes on year after year.
One tradition that all of the volunteers really get into is the battle to see who can serve more of the waiting families. As Deb notes, “We have a little competition each year with each side of the truck wanting to fill more cars than the other and it’s a lot of fun and we’re looking forward to it.”
Ogle concurs that’s a very spirited competition, and recognizes, as well, how important the event is to Southwest Michigan, saying, “We have over 400 families that will be served today, so a lot of people will be impacted and not just for one meal, there’s enough food here to probably last a week of meals with turkeys, potatoes, apples, and oranges and stuffing, and all the great things we love around the holidays, providing it to people in need.”
Yvonne Vidt is Director of the Southwestern Michigan Community Action Agency, and is responsible for handling the logistics that go into lining up all of the food, getting it on site, crafting the traffic flow for those waiting and those receiving, and the team of volunteers. As the event was just minutes away from starting at 2pm this afternoon, she told me, “You can just look around and see all the people that are waiting in line and we know how important this food is to them at the holidays. We want a good feeling, and we can go home for the weekend and the holidays and know that everyone will have a great time with Christmas dinner and beyond.”
While the Holiday Food Sharing program is always a hallmark of the organization, Vidt says the need goes on every day. She admits, “We’re getting more and more food and we’re serving more and more people all the time. That’s a good thing, but along with that we’re hiring more help, that’s a good thing, too, and we’re looking for more volunteers because we pack foods every day and are now serving probably 6,000 people out of our warehouse every quarter, so there’s always a need and always a need for additional volunteers for those interested in helping out. If you would like to help out as a volunteer, you are encouraged to call 269-925-9077 and talk to Vidt about how your help can make a difference in people’s lives.
Missing this year due to conflicting schedules and important work elsewhere were veterans from every other sharing event Jeff Noel from Whirlpool and Benton Harbor Mayor Marcus Muhammad, which likely tempered a bit of the competition, too, as both have been prime instigators of some of the shenanigans that take place each year. They were undoubtedly missed.
