Union Station to host food distribution

By CHARITY SMITH

[email protected]

Ironwood — The Union Station food pantry has teamed up with Feeding America to offer Michigan residents a drive-thru food distribution at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

The distribution is expected to include meat, produce, dairy and groceries, according to organizers.

“This is a different arrangement than what we had before. What we did is we partnered with Feeding America from downstate, and we offered to administer and distribute food to the local people here,” said Roger Kolehmainen, a representative with Union Station.

Kolehmainen said that Feeding America is broken down into states and that this program is just “geared” for Michigan residents. He said that Iron County, Wisconsin, has already been running a similar program for Wisconsinites that is held periodically at the recycling center in Hurley.

Kolehmainen said that he has requested this for quite awhile, and that it took some time to get set up. They are expecting 15,000 pounds of food, which he said is enough to feed 300 families.

He said they will have pallets at the side of the road and distribute the items directly into vehicles of those that are in need, adding no ID or proof of income is required for this event.

The food pantry is located at 352 E. Ayer St. in Ironwood. The pantry will be offering another distribution on Dec. 2 when a second truck is scheduled to arrive.