Twelve Baskets continues to be very blessed by the many businesses and individuals that support “Stomping Out Hunger” in our community. Oh my gosh! With the help of our valuable volunteers and selfless donors, no household should be left hungry after receiving an overflowing grocery cart of food, personal care, and cleaning products. So many praises are being received from the grateful clients we serve. The pantry’s number of households being served continues to climb each month.
Just in time for the Christmas season, families received fresh farm products from Corey Lake Orchards in Three Rivers and delicious beans from Randall’s in Tekonsha.
Oh wow!! How could the pantry continue to distribute so much food to needy families without the generous donations we receive from our business partners: Fresh Thyme, Walmart, Costco, Meijer, JBS Meats, to name a few.
Most recently Earth Fare selected Twelve Baskets to receive delicious healthy products daily. We are so thankful to have been chosen!
Thank you to Kathy DeMott for the most recent article you wrote in South County News (November 2020)
Twelve Baskets Overflows with Thanksgiving – Kathy and her ladies’ group from Women’s Life Insurance Society also organized a fund raiser to benefit Twelve Baskets and presented us with a generous check.
Advanced Health Pharmacy is currently doing a food drive along with a $DOLLAR for $DOLLAR match.

Meijer-Shaver Rd. has advised us the Holiday Simply Give Campaign that began October 25th is shaping up to be a success for Twelve Baskets. The campaign continues through January 2nd. At the end of this campaign Twelve Baskets will receive Meijer Gift Cards from the Simply Give donations made, to purchase much needed items to ensure that our inventory is fully stocked and ready for each weekly distribution. A special thank you to Meijer Retail Administrative Assistant, Nannette Davis, for your continued efforts to “Stomp Out Hunger” in our community by coordinating communications between Meijer and Twelve Baskets.
Joann Wespinter has been very busy answering the incoming phone calls for the pantry and providing information about Twelve Baskets. She reports that every week calls are coming in from individuals and businesses inquiring as to how they can help.
Food Drives and Monetary Donations help us in very tangible ways. For food drives, the pantry will supply a large barrel and flyers for your event. Twelve Baskets has been the benefactor of several successful food drives. If you know of a local business that would like to host a food drive, please give Joann a call at 269-532-4912.
As food inconsistency continues to rise, here are a few ways that Twelve Baskets can accept monetary donations: Pay Pal, Facebook, Amazon Smile, Spartan Nash, Your Cause (employer matching program) and our website www.twelve-baskets.org.
Personal Checks and Money Orders can also be mailed directly to the Pantry:
Twelve Baskets Food Pantry
10332 Portage Rd
Portage, MI 49002
Other ways to donate and make an impact on your community:​
Did you know you can donate appreciated stock to Twelve Baskets?
If you are over age 70-1/2 and have an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), you can process a tax-free gift with a Qualified Charitable Distribution to Twelve Baskets.
Please contact Tami Leffingwell, at Sanford Advisory Services, 269-365-0533 if you have any questions regarding charitable giving.
The Building Campaign
We have outgrown our space and are in negotiations with the owner of the building directly north of us. We have collected 1/5th of our goal of $500,000 needed to purchase, renovate, and move into a space that is 4 times larger than our current building. The larger building will be able to accommodate our volunteers, allowing them to work in a space that is not so crowded and for our clients to safely wait for their turn to shop. Would you please consider donating to this campaign so we can expand our reach to the community?

From the Board
The Board of Directors is very excited to announce and welcome our newest board member, Dan Rapin of Schoolcraft. Dan grew up in Saginaw and graduated from WMU with a degree in engineering. He currently works for Parker Aerospace in Kalamazoo as a research and development engineer in the aerospace hydraulics industry. When Dan is home, he is the family handyman and enjoys being creative with crafts and canvas painting, playing harmonica and banjo, running, and playing disc golf with his son Cody. Dan hopes to leverage his analytical/logical thinking and handyman skills to benefit Twelve Baskets.

We wish to extend our sincerest gratitude to all our corporate partners, volunteers, donors, and community members who have selflessly served and sacrificed this year. 2020 has been extremely difficult for so many on a multitude of levels. Not one person at the pantry is paid for what they do, and Twelve Baskets continues to operate 100% on donations. We feel privileged to be part of such a generous and loving community who have come alongside us in our mission “To lead the fight against hunger in our community by bridging the gap between the need and the excess, while restoring hope, dignity, and self-respect”.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! We wish you all a very healthy and Happy New Year!