Meijer Kicks Off its 10th Annual Meijer LPGA Classic Tournament Week with Local Food Pantry Visit

 Meijer Kicks Off its 10th Annual Meijer LPGA Classic Tournament Week with Local Food Pantry Visit

By: Annie Watson

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – To kick off the 10th annual Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, two-time LPGA winner Brittany Lang joined the Meijer team on a visit to The Other Way Ministries, located in the west side neighborhood within downtown Grand Rapids. The tour was hosted by Scott Bloem, the executive director of The Other Way Ministries, which is one of the many Meijer Simply Give food pantry partners.

This comes just one month after Meijer and its partners donated $500,000 to the Meijer Simply Give program as part of its record-breaking $2 million goal for this year’s 10th tournament. Since the tournament’s very beginning in 2014, Meijer has raised more than $10 million, and more than $90 million overall since the inception of Simply Give in 2008.

The economic impact of the Simply Give program is not lost on the local community, and Bloem and his staff have felt the support from Meijer over the years.

Simply Give in particular is a program that has helped us, has helped our neighbors get through some tough times,” Bloem said. “Five years ago, we saw about 150 people every month. In 2023, we saw over 900 [people] a month.”

Bloem adds that the pantry’s ability to meet the demands of the local community is in large part thanks to the Simply Give program, as well as local Meijer stores in the area, which provide additional support to the pantry, such as Bridge Street Market, located about a half mile north of The Other Way.

Bloem guided guests through the pantry proper, as well as the Ministry’s market next door, which houses goods from Meijer stores that are available to the community at a subsidized cost.

“They’re family here [at The Other Way], they care here, and they listen to their community,” Lang said. “It’s really special to meet and see how people help out other people.”

Lang is one of the 144 golfers in the field for the Meijer LPGA Classic, and all proceeds from the tournament will go to the Meijer Simply Give program. The 10th Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give begins on Thursday, June 13th, at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Mich.

 

June 11, 2024
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