Metro Detroiters will choose from four diverse meal options
For the second consecutive year, The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit is partnering with Bank of America to provide 8,200 ‘Bountiful Boxes’ – holiday food boxes offering ingredients for diverse meal options – to individuals and families from Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties.
Although the Bountiful Boxes program is in its sophomore year, The Salvation Army has been distributing Christmas season food boxes throughout its 128-year history.
Rather than each recipient receiving the exact same ingredients, The Salvation Army is preparing four diverse offerings to appeal to the different culinary preferences of the people it serves, including:
- Bountiful Box #1: green beans, corn, yams, instant mashed potatoes, bread stuffing mix, turkey gravy, macaroni and cheese, corn muffin mix, cranberry sauce and cake mix and frosting.
- Bountiful Box #2: greens, yams, corn, macaroni and cheese, cornbread stuffing, instant mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, evaporated milk and pumpkin pie filling and crust.
- Bountiful Box #3: dried beans, corn, crushed tomatoes, yams, rice, bread stuffing, turkey gravy, macaroni and cheese, cranberry sauce and cake mix and frosting. This box will also include a certificate for Garden Fresh Gourmet Salsa.
- Bountiful Box #4: grape leaves, chick peas, lentils, green beans, rice, flour and brownie mix.
Recipients will also receive a $10 grocery store gift card to purchase fresh foods to supplement the Bountiful Box ingredients. Families of six or more will receive a $20 grocery store gift card.
“Bank of America is committed to our community and providing food access to those in need. Bountiful Boxes not only provides food, but also this unique program recognizes cultural differences inherit in all our communities,” said Matt Elliott, Michigan market president, Bank of America. “Our Bank of America volunteers will be out in full force both packing and delivering the specialty boxes this holiday season.”
All 8,200 Bountiful Boxes will be packed by a large contingent of volunteers, including dozens of Bank of America employees, assembly line-style at The Salvation Army Detroit Harbor Light Center.
Dearborn-based moving company Two Men and a Truck is donating its logistical expertise, as well as three delivery trucks and six movers to ensure the Bountiful Boxes get delivered in time for the holidays. The trucks will stop at 14 corps community centers over two days to unload the 8,200 boxes.
“In a region as multicultural as metro Detroit, the Bountiful Boxes program allows The Salvation Army to help families to share a holiday meal that better reflects their background,” said Major Mark Anderson, general secretary and metro Detroit area commander of The Salvation Army Eastern Michigan Division. “Thanks to generosity of Bank of America, we are able to provide diverse meal offerings to accommodate varying holiday traditions. And thanks to Two Men and a Truck’s support, we’re able to get the meals where they need to be to give metro Detroiters a Merry Christmas.