MUSKEGON, Mich. — In July, 13 ON YOUR SIDE shared the story of a pantry outside of The Us Café in Muskegon Heights where you can take what you need and leave what you can.
Now, an update showing that you’ll find multiple pantries like this in the Muskegon area. 13 ON YOUR SIDE met with one of the groups helping to keep these pantries full.
Dr. Mark Poletti told our news crew, “You know, you want to help out.”
After working as a chiropractor for 10 years, the retired doctor decided to take on hunger.
“The problem is bigger than we can handle, but it’s something,” he said.
Ray McCleod is a member of the Muskegon County Bicycling Coalition. He said, “Mark’s been a friend for a long time and he’s always out in the community doing more, more and more.” Adding that, “He’s a tireless volunteer and advocate to beautify the city to make the city better.”
Both are part of the Muskegon County Bicycling Coalition, and as a group they decided to start making pantry deliveries. Initially, dropping off loaves of bread.
“Ray came up with the idea, why don’t we make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and so, instead of delivering a loaf of bread that would get snatched up by one person, we had several sandwiches,” said Dr. Poletti.
They bike for about 90 minutes on Tuesday nights and then gather to make the sandwiches.
Dr. Poletti explained, “We have community members that are making the sandwiches a lot now, too, that don’t even ride the bikes.”
“There’s a table of eight or 10 of us and we’ll make 13 to 14 loaves of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” said McCleod.
The next morning, they make their rounds to the pantry outside of The Us Café and several others, about seven or eight according to the doctor, in rain, snow or shine.
“We have a little route we take and it’s a lot of fun,” said Dr. Poletti.
McCleod said it’s an opportunity for community members “to just come and help themselves to whatever they need.”
Dr. Poletti said, “Being on a bike, we get more of a pulse of the city. We can see who’s out there and who’s in need.”
“You ride along and people honk and wave at you and yell ‘thank you’ out of their cars. They’re not even stopping, or they stop, and they ask how can I help,” sad McCleod.
Echoing the same sentiments, Dr. Poletti said, “Everybody is so kind. Please, thank you and God bless are the three things I hear the most.”
The group also stops by the Muskegon Rescue Mission, “where we can hand a sandwich or a granola bar or Mark makes coffee at home, pours them a cup of coffee. They say, ‘hey, Dr. Mark! How you doing? How you doing?’ And Mark knows them by name,” said McCleod.
They’re hoping others will see this story and will join their cause.
“We need more help, obviously. You’re never going to have enough help. You’re never going to have enough food to give,” said McCleod.
The group calls themselves Biking with a Purpose. They’ve been getting a lot of support from the community including donations. Still, they often use their own money to purchase fruit and breakfast bars to make up for what they don’t get in donations.