Twenty-six years ago, then Chippewa County Sheriff Jeff Moran teamed up with Scott Shackleton to start the Holiday Food Drive. They wanted to do something positive for the community around Christmas.
Twenty-six years later, Moran has since retired (in 2010) however Shackleton continued the tradition with the next Sheriff Robert Savoie (who retired in 2016), and now with current Sheriff Mike Bitnar.
Bitnar also has been a part of the food drive since its inception when he was a deputy.
This year, Bitnar and Shackleton added an additional spot for donations.
Northern Sand and Gravel was added to complement the Walmart and Pat's Foods locations.
Despite a few feet of snow already on the ground from a couple weeks of heavy snow, and heavy snow falling Saturday, the volunteers were excited to be able to spend their day helping out those less fortunate in the community.
"It is about having fun. We have handed out a bunch of Sheriff sticker badges to little kids. We have done snow angels. It's just a lot of fun. The group here, we were just talking about how this puts us in the Christmas mood. The first hour at Walmart Saturday was probably the best start I have seen in years. We actually had people waiting for us to show up and open up," Bitnar said.
While Bitnar recognizes that several other organizations have food banks, his heart knows where these donations must go.
"It's the Salvation Army we choose and partner up with because it is the place with one big building where we can drop off all the donations and everything is distributed locally," Bitnar explained.
The annual event would not be successful without the volunteers from the Sheriff's Office and their family and friends.
"Without them volunteering their time in this weather, I just couldn't do it. Yeah, Scott and I set it up but we have our office down here helping. And the people in the Eastern U.P who donate are incredible and very generous. It's a great thing," Bitnar continued.
With the additional location at Northern Sand and Gravel, Bitnar said donations were above from previous years.
