Food Fight 2025: Congratulations Team South!

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That’s a wrap on Food Fight 2025!

The final results are in…
🏆 South Team takes the win with 95,894 points!
👏 North Team gave a strong fight with 64,760 points!

Congratulations, Team South!!

All together, we raised $150,961 and collected 9,693+ food items to support reliable access to nutritious food for everyone in Lowell.
A special shoutout to the Lowell Post Office for going above and beyond—collecting 6,293 items during their Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, smashing their previous year’s record by over 1,100!

Another incredible year, with our always incredible community. THANK YOU!


Our friends from Lowell Post Office

Rookies

Red Barn Mercantile

Fish & Finn Outfitters

Ground Broken, Dreams Building!

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May 22nd, 2025, marked a monumental moment for our Lowell community. After years of dedicated planning and unwavering community support, we officially broke ground on FROM’s new affordable housing units right here in our city. This wasn’t just about construction – it was about creating hope and opportunity for families who deserve a safe, stable place to call home. We know that having secure housing changes everything: it gives children a consistent address for school, parents peace of mind, and families the foundation they need to thrive and build their futures. Every shovel of dirt turned represented countless hours of collaboration, advocacy, and belief in what’s possible when a community comes together. To every neighbor, supporter, and partner who made this vision a reality – THANK YOU.

Here’s to the families who will soon have keys in their hands and hope in their hearts. Home isn’t just four walls and a roof – it’s where dreams take root and families flourish.

A Big FROM Welcome to Walter Jones!

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We’re thrilled to welcome Walter Jones as our new Program Manager at Flat River Outreach Ministries!

Walter comes to us with a background in pastoral ministry, residential behavioral health, and workforce development through Job Corps.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Cornerstone University and is passionate about serving others with compassion and integrity.

Walter and his wife, Jazhmin, have three boys. In his free time, he enjoys the peace and quiet of fishing.


Walter will be taking Monica Light’s place as she plans to retire later in May 2025 after 6.5 years of service in the role.

We’re excited for the experience and heart Walter brings to FROM—please help us give him a warm welcome!

Making Waves: Flat River Outreach Ministries’ 2024 Impact

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2024 was a year of significant growth and impact for Flat River Outreach Ministries. Thanks to the incredible support of our community, dedicated volunteers, and generous donors, we were able to make a real difference in the lives of families in Lowell.


We are incredibly grateful for the support of our community. Your contributions, both large and small, have made a lasting difference.

 

Welcome, Haley!

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We’re excited to introduce Haley, our new Development Coordinator!
She’ll bring her talents to our event planning, marketing, and donor relations efforts. Haley has held several other development positions at other nonprofits in the area. Feel free to stop and chat if you see her in the hallways, she is eager to get to know everyone. Join us in welcoming Haley as she helps us strengthen connections within our community and further our mission of serving our neighbors.

More about her:
Haley brings a decade of experience in office administration and non-profit development, where she has honed her skills in helping organizations thrive. She has steadily built her career into a platform that allows her to do what she does best: helping others. Driven by her personal experiences with mental health discrimination and healthcare challenges, Haley is deeply passionate about advocating for equality, dignity, and empowerment for all people. In addition to her professional pursuits, Haley is a talented artist and musician. She sings, plays guitar, and ukulele, and has had her artwork shown at the Gerald R. Ford Museum. Haley lives in Kentwood, MI, with her two furbabies, Moby and Kora.

Welcome Haley!

Christmas Distribution 2024: A Shining Success

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This year’s Christmas Toy Store and Food Basket programs was a heartwarming success! A total of 257 families with 437 children registered, with adults shopping, free of charge, for Christmas toys to bring a little extra love and excitement to their holiday. Alongside the toys, we also prepared and distributed 378 food bags, so that families in Lowell could enjoy a delicious Christmas dinner together.

The event was made possible thanks to the generosity and hard work of our dedicated volunteers, donors, and supporters. Together, we brought joy, hope, and holiday cheer to our community. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this event such a shining success!

Get Involved in National Nutrition Month!

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March is National Nutrition Month®! The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics put together a whole list of ways you can get involved in March. Our Development Director, Arianne,  wanted to share a few with you with examples of how her family is incorporating them into their meal planning.

 

 

 

Try new fruits and vegetables this month!

The next time you’re at the grocery store, pick out a fruit or vegetable you’ve never tried and taste test it with your family. Sometimes at Meijer, we’ll pick up an exotic fruit or vegetable to taste for fun. We’ve tried starfruit, dragon fruit and jackfruit by doing this. Each month in our Food Pantry we feature a different food item. For March, we’re highlighting carrots, as well as this soup recipe!

 

Get your family (or friends) involved in meal planning. Ask for their ideas!

If your family is stumped, asking friends for their favorite meal on Social Media is a great way to get new recipes, or searching on Pinterest.

 

Limit your TV/screen time (or take breaks) and incorporate physical activity.

Watch an episode or two of your favorite show, and take a break to clean up the kitchen, take a walk around the block, or play catch for a few minutes with your kids. That extra bit of exercise in the day helps my whole family relax, unwind and fall asleep faster.

 

Try to stay off screentime during mealtime – including phones, computers, TV, tablets, etc.

 Try sitting at the table for your meals and keep all electronic devices out of the room. It’ll help you focus on your meal, and conversations with your family. It’s a great opportunity to share the funny things you read on your phone, or bring up a fun conversation for discussion.

 

Try more meals without meat.

At Flat River Outreach Ministries our Food Pantry and a number of our food programs we receive a large amount of meatless protein options – including beans, peas and lentils. Our Healthy Food Program Coordinator, Kelly, often highlights meatless recipes in the Food Pantry and offers samples to try. One of our favorite meatless options is a black bean and corn burrito. Check out this Gimme Delicious recipe!

 

Get your whole family involved in cooking. There’s room for everyone!

 My favorite memories of my mom are around meal preparation, she always encouraged us to be in the kitchen with us. And although it can take a lot of extra time, as an adult, I try to bring my 2-year-old to help make dinner. He especially loves making pizza with us and counts while he puts pepperoni and cheese on the pizza.

 

Try a new spice or flavor to your meal.

Be inspired at the grocery store. Seek out new spices that sound interesting and find a recipe to use it in. When you travel, try to recreate a dish you loved on your trip. My family found a love for falafel and Mediterranean food while on a trip to Israel, and started making them when we realized how easy they were to recreate at home!

 

There are way more ideas and suggestions on Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, CLICK HERE to read the rest of them.

Spring Clean Up with Repair & Restore

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Last weekend FROM held their second annual Repair & Restore Spring Clean up Event. About a dozen volunteers helped out on outdoor projects throughout the greater Lowell community.

Volunteers worked on 6 projects throughout the day that included cleaning gutters and picking up yards to prepare for summer. The biggest project of the day involved moving a large wooden shed 50 feet up a hill in preparation for a future ramp installation project.

“It was great weather and everyone showed up fully prepared to get dirty and serve our community,” Bob Rogers, the volunteer who leads the FROM Repair & Restore project, said.

The Repair & Restore program provides small home repairs throughout the year, with the Spring-Clean up event being a service area wide outdoor project that happens one Saturday a year in the spring.

If you are a homeowner in the Lowell Area School District and are in need of some small home repairs, please reach out to our Connections Office (616-897-8260 ext 125) to talk to Monica about options available to you. If you love working outdoors and are looking for ways to give back to the community, be sure to sign up to volunteer for the next Repair & Restore event by visiting our website (fromlowell.org/volunteer/).

A big thank you to every volunteer who came out to serve your community on May 20! We are so thankful for your heart to serve your neighbors in need.

Starting off right – backpack distribution 2022

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340 students walked into their first day of classes in August with the confidence that they had a backpack and school supplies to take the school year head-on.

Kids were able to pick out their backpack and collect school supplies specific for their school, grade and classroom.

A big thanks to all of the volunteers who helped out – including a group from Lowell Family Dentistry – as well as support from our community through school supply and financial donations. 

Preparation for the August distribution started in April when the team sat and made the game plan. This included coming up with ideas on how to improve from the previous years. 

“We were essentially coming out of a COVID-19 restriction time,” said Monica. “We always ask the question ‘how could we make sure we help everyone involved in the best way?’ Then June-July came and registration began. Registration is important because it helps FROM know how many supplies to purchase, especially ones that are specific to one grade or classroom. 

Alongside the Backpack Distribution, the Alto Lions Club offered free vision screenings. This was another effort from the FROM team to make the Backpack Distribution program experience as pleasant as possible. “We are always looking to make the experience as enjoyable for kids as the parents,” Monica said.

“I’ve always been treated with kindness and respect and it is appreciated immensely,” a program participant shared. “It’s hard to admit you’re struggling, but FROM never makes you feel ashamed of asking for help.”

Backpack Distribution happens the second week of August each year and is available to families who live in the Lowell Area School District and make 300% of the Federal Poverty Level or less or have an expressed need. You don’t have to attend the Lowell Area Schools, you just have to live in the district and have a child attending school The Backpack Distribution is one of more than a dozen programs FROM offers throughout the year. The next program requiring registration is our Christmas Toy Store and Food Basket. Registration starts November 1st, 2022 and the program will be held the second week of December. Click here to learn more about the Christmas Toy Store and Food Basket and all other FROM programs. 

Congratulations to Team South!

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After a month of friendly but fierce competition, Team South has emerged victorious in FROM’s (Flat River Outreach Ministries) annual Food Fight Campaign.  

From May 1 – June 1 the nonprofit encouraged the Greater Lowell community to give from the heart to see who can raise the most resources.  

The campaign divided the Greater Lowell Community into two teams – Team North and Team South with M-21 splitting the teams. Each dollar and food item donated to FROM counted as a point for that team. Combined, Team North and Team South totaled 11,000 food items and $145,000 in financial donations. This equaled 156,455 points which surpassed FROM’s goal of reaching 150,000 points.  

“Thank you to everyone who participated in Food Fight – whether you made a financial donation, collected food, were a food collection site for us, or shared our Social Media posts,” Arianne Hall, FROM Development Director said. “You make it possible for us to reach our neighbors in need – every day. We truly could not do what we do without you!”  

Although Food Fight is over, the community can still get involved by donating on our website at  https://www.fromlowell.org/donate/  

Thrift Store Now Open Mondays!

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For Treasures Thrift Store, Mondays have always been bustling with volunteers excited prepare the shop for the week and interact with one another. Now the community will be able to join in the excitement that Mondays bring. We are excited to announce that FROM will be opening Treasures Thrift shop on Mondays starting June 6. Rather than locked doors, shoppers will be met with open arms of volunteers and employees eager to serve the community.

Shoppers will have the opportunity to start their week by browsing our shelves packed with a variety of items. Big promotional sales will be held each Monday to help celebrate the opening. June 6 will be a 10$ red bag sale and all other Mondays will be 75% off clothing.

Treasures Thrift Store has already seen improvements such as new front room displays and signs, the expansion of several departments, and a new community bulletin board. The thrift store has played an important role in both the lives of our customers and the support of our other programs. All of the proceeds from Treasures Thrift Store help support the mission of FROM. That means funds help serve the more than 600 families who utilize programs at FROM each year. We are excited for this opening to be another way FROM can serve the community and continue the thrift shop’s recent success.

“I am excited to have this opportunity to provide our customers with more options to fit their shopping needs. The additional funds will support our mission and provide additional resources to our community,” said Laura Bradeen, the thrift store manager.

To help support Treasures Thrift Store, come shop on Mondays or sign up to volunteer. We are in need of people to run the cash register or sort donations on Monday. Having a full roster of volunteers is important to provide the necessary time and care needed to give our customers a wonderful shopping experience.

The store will be open on Monday starting on June 6 from 10AM-6PM. This is in addition to being open Tuesday-Saturday 10AM-6PM and Saturday 10AM-2PM.