Art Van Furniture announced that the first annual Art Van Furniture / WXYZ Channel 7 can drive collected an astounding 85,000 pounds of food. That is the equivalent of 69,000 meals, enough to feed a sell-out crowd at Ford Field. “We owe the success of this campaign to the community for pulling together to help the disadvantaged during these tough times,” said Art Van Elslander, Chairman and Founder of Art Van Furniture. “I am so inspired by and thankful for the employees and customers who donated food to take care of our own Michigan families,” added Mr. Van Elslander.
The “Together We Can” food drive began November 9 and ended December 13. Donations were accepted at 17 of Art Van Furniture’s Metro Detroit stores. The donations will be distributed to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Gleaners Community Food Bank. “The drive collected the largest quantity that we have ever received. Normally we begin to run out of food around January 20, this food will take us through the winter,” said Jim Moseley, of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul provides food, clothing, shelter and valuable human services to the poor and underserved throughout the Detroit area. Gleaners Community Food Bank distributes food to more than 400 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and disaster relief agencies in Southeastern Michigan.
Art Van Furniture is known for its community service programs and events. To learn how you can participate in upcoming charitable programs, visit www.artvan.com.
About Art Van Furniture
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Art Van Furniture is Michigan's largest furniture retailer and America's largest independent furniture retailer, operating 31 stores in 29 communities throughout Michigan, a full service e-commerce website plus a new freestanding bedding store in Canton Michigan, ‘Art Van Pure Sleep.’ The company is family-owned and headquartered in Warren, Michigan. For more information, visit artvan.com.