The Fight Against COVID-19 Continues Through Local Partnership
Shortly after the coronavirus broke out in the United States, countless organizations sprung into action to combat it. One of them was a Detroit-based business – but it isn’t a hospital or a social services center. Atlas Wholesale Food Company has been a provider of wholesale foods to metro Detroit restaurants since 1949. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the company decided to take action by applying for a contract to distribute food for the USDA Farmers to Families Program, a governmental effort to distribute fresh, nutritious food to individuals and families in need.
Upon being awarded the contract, the company needed just one more thing: partners already engaged in COVID-19 relief with key locations in eastern Michigan. The Salvation Army has been serving metro Detroit since 1887 and is dedicated to providing feeding and disaster relief services, so Atlas Wholesale Food Company quickly connected with them and coordinated their efforts. During the first week of June, the two organizations working together distributed 250 fully assembled meat boxes.
“Service has always been a key element to what we do,” said John Kohl, CEO of Atlas Wholesale Food Company. “By partnering with The Salvation Army, we are able to provide much-needed relief to families who are struggling due to the COVID-19 crisis.”
For the month of June, The Salvation Army is providing weekly Farmers to Families boxes through its corps community centers in Mount Clemens, Royal Oak, Warren, Washtenaw County, and Wyandotte.
“The Salvation Army wouldn’t have been able to feed thousands of families these past few months without the help of our amazing partners like Atlas Wholesale Food Company,” said Lt. Colonel John Turner, divisional commander and regional chief executive officer for The Salvation Army Eastern Michigan Division. “Atlas has been serving our community for more than 70 years, and when they came to us looking for ways to provide food for our community in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we quickly joined forces. Through the month of June, The Salvation Army will be distributing 1,300 food boxes to feed metro Detroit families, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Atlas in the future.”
