The seedlings of an outreach are always the greatest time to jump in.  It was a hand from one of our sponsors, Daily Deals that got us in touch with Alana Crooks.  Alana began with this idea of helping feed hungry people, with no judgement when she could.  What began with “a few bags of groceries” has become a movement in Grand Rapids, and soon will extend in to more of West Michigan as a 501c3 is now established, and “The Salty Mama” as she was once known, is now “The Salty Mama Village”.  It’s nothing but amazing to watch a village grow.  Meet Alana. 

Understanding the need is where it begins.  The need is real too.  Food insecurity is an issue people are facing more and more as pocketbooks get tighter and tighter.  In the USA, we are pretty quick to hide the problem.  Honestly, we’re pretty quick to hide a lot of problems other than food insecurity, but we’ve got all the time in the world to get to that.  Today, it’s Alana and her recognition of the need.  Kids in school that rely on breakfast and lunch through meal programs, they might be going home to empty cupboards and not sure where they are going to find their dinner….or if they are going to find it.  There are places like the Kids Food Basket who send home their famous sack suppers, but the need is only one paycheck away for some families.  The idea that most Americans are $400 bucks away from a financial disaster, well, some have to cut the spending on food.  Some are too ashamed to ask for that hand.

With The Salty Mama…forget it.  Zero shame.  No questions asked and if need be, you will be handed a bag of groceries when they are available.  Or, as Alana just wrapped up, maybe a backpack filled with school supplies.  The food?  It comes from places like Daily Deals, who themselves are in the business of ending food waste by being an outlet.  They will buy shipments of top quality food….that might have had an error in printing on the box, didn’t have the proper marbling on the steaks or didn’t fry within one second of spec…and sell it at a deep discount.  They also donate to Alana and drop the price a little more for her organization.  Imagine that?  You need a hand to get the staple items you need, Alana takes care of that…and your bag comes with meat, dairy, canned and fresh items…and the fresh items….probably from Alana’s family garden, right out back.

As society speeds up seeing young people who’ve been given that spark to know that so much comes from so little is such a relief.  The investment in to humanity is utterly important and if you take a look at The Salty Mama’s Facebook page…..one gal’s desire has turned in to that “village”.  23k followers and growing.  Big things come in small packages and to be in to watch Alana reset the hearts and minds of her minions in the future….we’re so thankful to the tip from our mutual friends who said, “You gotta meet this gal…..”

Visit “The Salty Mama, It Takes a Village” on Facebook to find out ways to give, share and support!  You’ll be seeing more of Alana soon!

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Our very special thanks to Daily Deals for connecting us to Alana.