Enjoying any of the broad array of amazing craft brews populating the Southwest Michigan Makers Trail is a treat in and of itself. When you can enjoy one and support hunger relief at the same time it makes for a glorious fall day. Get ready to enjoy that scenario thanks to the Hops Against Hunger campaign coming soon.
Michigan’s food banks are encouraging supporters to raise a glass for hunger relief this September, and Berrien County’s breweries are giving them a place to do it.
The campaign, called Hops Against Hunger, unites the state’s breweries and beer geeks with food banks serving those in need. All month, Michigan breweries will be hosting fundraisers to support the work of the state’s seven Feeding America-member food banks. Forty breweries, beer bars and restaurants from metro Detroit to Marquette are taking part, including five right here in Berrien County.
Sean Little is Development Associate for Feeding America West Michigan, which serves Berrien County from its branch in Benton Harbor. Little calls September, “Hunger Action Month,” and adds, “Food banks like ours are asking people to volunteer, donate, contact their elected officials and take a whole host of actions to support our cause. We loved the idea of throwing brewery fundraisers into the mix and hopefully reaching a lot of people who might be totally new to food banking and hunger relief.”
Little notes, “As we’ve begun building relationships with breweries, we’ve found that it’s an easy sell. They really care about this issue.”
The Livery Microbrewery, North Pier Brewing Company and Silver Harbor Brewing Company have joined the campaign in Benton Harbor, along with Watermark Brewing Company in Stevensville and Greenbush Brewing Company in Sawyer.
Ali Brodhacker is Marketing Director for Greenbush. She says, “Simply put, we believe that no one should go hungry and the Hops Against Hunger campaign is an excellent way to combat the issue of malnutrition.” She adds, “We support the efforts of Feeding America West Michigan because they are targeting the community in which we live, work and play.”
According to the latest data from Feeding America, 22,630 people are food insecure in Berrien County, meaning they struggle to get enough food to lead a healthy life. That’s 14.5-percent of the population. Feeding America West Michigan provided 1.5 million pounds of food in the county last year.
Greenbush will be hosting its second-annual Harvest Party on September 22nd in support of the organization. The event will feature live music, a bratwurst-grilling competition and a Cabra Perdida bottle release. Entry is $12 for adults, $8 for kids 12 and under and includes all-you-can eat brats.
This year’s Harvest Party will also be the unveiling of a brand-new beer brewed in collaboration with the Feeding America West Michigan staff. The beer, which doesn’t yet have a name, was brewed with plums and brown sugar. Brodhacker calls it “a heavy hitter in both taste and ABV.” $1 from each pour will be donated to Feeding America West Michigan.
Last year’s Harvest Party raised $1,384 for the organization, enough to provide 5,500 meals.
For their Hops Against Hunger event, North Pier Brewing Company is organizing a golf tournament at nearby Harbor Shores Golf Club. Proceeds from the event will be donated to Feeding America West Michigan, along with 50 cents from each beer poured at the after-party in the brewery.
Little says, “We wanted to give breweries the freedom to put their own stamp on it. We’ve seen some breweries come to us with really cool ideas and we love that their events are highlighting the diversity of the craft beer scene in Michigan.”
Since the Hops Against Hunger initiative kicked off in 2016, it’s raised more than $20,000 to support the food banks serving those people. A dozen establishments took part last year, and that number has risen to 41, showing a growing commitment to hunger relief in the state’s brewing community.
The Livery and Watermark are hosting Pack the Pub events on September 14th and 21st respectively, donating a percentage of every pint served. Silver Harbor is setting aside $1 for every pour of their Kumbaya Brown Ale during the entire month of September.
Information about participating breweries, events and Michigan’s food banks can be found by clicking this link: