Cold months hit Detroit families with a different kind of weight. Groceries cost more. Utility bills climb. Inflation stretches already-tight budgets. This holiday season, more families across the city are turning to community support not out of choice but necessity.
That growing need is what brings the Shumake Family Foundation back to Eastern Market with its annual Holiday Harvest grocery giveaway.
Holiday Harvest will distribute more than 30,000 pounds of fresh food, essential household items, and community resources to Detroit residents on Monday, December 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bert’s Warehouse in Eastern Market, 2727 Russell St.
Organizers expect one of the largest turnouts the initiative has seen in recent years, as families navigate rising food prices and a winter season that continues to strain household budgets.
Detroit households have been carrying that burden more heavily. Inflation may have cooled on paper, but grocery prices, transportation costs, and everyday necessities still sit at levels many families cannot absorb. Programs like Holiday Harvest fill the gap for residents who are working, caregiving, surviving, and still coming up short because the cost of living outpaces wages. The holidays sharpen that reality. Parents want to create warmth, joy, and stability, yet many are facing fridges that run empty faster and store shelves that feel farther out of reach.
Holiday Harvest builds on more than a decade of Shumake family service.
Since 2012, the foundation has supported more than 25,000 Detroit families through food distribution, clothing assistance, school supplies, housing resources, and partnerships connecting residents with healthcare providers. What started as the Detroit Red Carpet Backyard Barbecue now sits among the city’s most longstanding community-centered efforts meeting families where the need is greatest.
“Holiday Harvest is our way of making sure Detroit families feel seen, supported, and cared for during a time that can be difficult for so many,” said Diop Shumake, founder of the Shumake Family Foundation. “Our mission has always been rooted in compassion. We meet people where they are and ensure no family goes without during the holidays.”
Support for this year’s event comes from Young Titans, Forgotten Harvest, Catholic Charities, and community sponsor Sugar Honey Iced Tea, which will host on-site activations focused on sexual health education and culturally relevant wellness conversations. These partners reflect a broader truth that holiday support is no longer just about groceries. Families need access to whole-person resources: nutrition, safety, health information, and tools that sustain households beyond a single giveaway.
Organizers Diop Shumake, Jamelia Hymon, Amina Shumake, and Madison King are leading the 2025 event.
Volunteers from across Detroit — block clubs, faith communities, youth groups, workplaces, and service organizations — are encouraged to join. Registration is open at https://form.jotform.com/253269123764158.
The Shumake Family Foundation emphasized the community tie that keeps this tradition alive.
“Detroit has always wrapped its arms around our family. Holiday Harvest is our opportunity to wrap our arms back around Detroit,” the foundation shared. “We are committed to expanding this legacy of service in the years ahead.”
Holiday gatherings across the city will look different this year. Inflation has made basics harder to afford. Seniors living on fixed incomes have seen their grocery budgets shrink. Parents are choosing between gifts and groceries. Caregivers supporting elderly relatives or young children are navigating increasing food costs with little relief. Holiday Harvest steps into that reality with a simple but urgent promise: no household should face the season cold, hungry, or unseen.
The Shumake Family Foundation’s work reflects what Detroit families know intimately — community care is often the first line of support when economic pressures close in. Holiday Harvest arrives not as charity, but as connection, sustainability, and dignity.
For thousands of residents, it may mean one less impossible choice in a season filled with them.
