WARSAW — Combined Community Services will be able to continue to feed hungry families in Kosciusko County thanks to the generosity of Meijer and its customers who participated in the retailer’s spring Simply Give food pantry donation program.

Dane’s Family Pantry received an award letter for $6,350 in a gift card donation from Meijer in July.

“Dane’s Family Pantry at Combined Community Services is very blessed to have been chosen as the recipient of the Simply Give fundraiser for our local store,” said John Parker director of client assistance at CCS. “This very generous donation from Meijer and its customers will allow us to impact those who receive much-needed food from us by purchasing items when we see our stock decreasing.”

This donation will assist in serving families in Kosciusko County, and further allows Dane’s Family Pantry to continue its mission of feeding those in need. CCS serves an average of 456 families, 1,529 individuals a month.

Each Meijer Simply Give campaign replenishes the shelves of more than 235 food pantries in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Wisconsin. The program encourages customers to purchase $10 Simply Give donation cards, which are then converted into Meijer food-only gift cards and given to a local food pantry in the store’s community.

For the seventh consecutive year, Meijer will contribute at least $1 million to the 2018 Simply Give program.

“This contribution shows our commitment to hunger relief in the Midwest,” Meijer Executive Chairman Hank Meijer said. “We appreciate the support and commitment our generous customers and team members have shown and we want to support their continued generosity.”

The Simply Give program runs three times a year: Spring, Fall and Holiday. Since the program’s inception in November 2008, more than $37 million has been donated to food pantries in the Midwest.