Feeding the Dream

by Michaela Garcia✧ January 29, 2026 @ 9:35 AM

In The News

In honor of the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr, United Way of Bay County was able to partner with the Michigan Community Service Commission and Essexville-Hampton Public Schools on the Feeding the Dream youth service project.

The project aims to help support local youth who are struggling with food insecurity. Many students across Bay County often rely on school provided meals as their main source of food. Through the Feeding the Dream youth service project, students at Essexville Garber High School were able to assemble 400 meal bags that will be distributed to local schools for students to access as needed. The meal bags include items such as ready to heat meals, crackers, fruit, and a sweet treat.

This project would not be possible without many community supporters who have come together to make this initiative happen. Students from Bush Elementary and Verellen Elementary School designed cards that included words of encouragement to be placed inside each of the meal bags. Garber High School students held a donation drive to gather food items for the meal bags. Additionally, some of our local Bay County pantries stepped up to donate food items for the meal bags which include Mid Michigan Community Action Agency, SMITH FOOD PANTRY , and the Bay County Emergency Food Pantry Network.

Thank you to our community partner, Hidden Harvest for helping with the delivery of these meal bags!

We were also very fortunate to have Matt Franklin, Regional Manager for U.S Senator Elissa Slotkin‘s office come and participate in the assembly of the meal bags.

Feeding the Dream honors Dr. King’s legacy through service, collaboration, and empathy for one another. This project demonstrates the impact of engaging students in service projects to help address community needs. These efforts help ensure that local youth have access to the resources and support they need to thrive—both in and out of the classroom.