Coordinator Elena Torongo of Alger County Communities That Care showcases the items that are part of the breakfasts and lunches given in “Alger Packs,” which are a week’s worth of meals dropped off at various locations in Alger County to school children and seniors in need. Through donations from businesses and the community, the nonprofit has been able to provide around 200 packs weekly. (Photo courtesy of Elena Torongo)

MARQUETTE — A local organization is not only helping school children in need with pre-packaged weekly meals, but elderly folks as well in Alger County.

When COVID-19 caused Michigan schools to close, in less than 24 hours the Alger County Communities That Care began brainstorming ideas on how they could help, supplying families with K-12 students in Alger County with a week’s worth of pre-packaged breakfast, snack and lunch foods at drop-off locations throughout the county. Then the idea expanded by including senior citizens as part of the mission and called the packages “Alger Packs,” ACCTC Coordinator Elena Torongo said.

“I believe the phrase, ‘If we can’t help right now, why are we here?î’ was really fueling us,” Torongo said.

Staff reached out to the community for donations and to see if there were any elderly they could identify who were in need, and it turns out that the group needed to supplement its supplies for the high percentage of elderly people in Alger County.

Each week, the organization has been dropping off approximately 200 packs in total to different locations in Alger County such as Au Train, Grand Marias, Trenary and Chatham, Torongo said, noting that the packs are meant for a week’s worth of breakfasts and lunches and it’s one pack per child or one pack per eldlerly individual.

All the pre-packaged breakfasts and lunches come with extra snacks, a fresh fruit and a bagel. Bagel donations came from Bay Furnace Bagels of Munising before it closed, she said.

The amount of packs changes weekly and the drop-off locations vary week to week due to the demand of packs in certain areas, she added.

“We decided to focus primarily on areas around Munising, since Munising schools were already developing their own food service and have a very similar year-round program called MPacks. Due to new restrictions placed the following week, we had to take a different approach for the next drop,” she said. “But this Wednesday (April 8) and Thursday (April 9) will be our third drop of another 200 packs since the initial on the 17th.î”

ACCTC is a nonprofit program funded through Great Lakes Recovery and NorthCare and its mission statement is Alger County United and Thriving: promoting a safe, healthy and prosperous environment for youth and adults, Torongo said, adding, it is involved throughout Alger County, funding programs such as Positive Action and Botvin’s Life Skills. The organization is a grassroots nonprofit which means that most of its funding for programming comes through grants, donations and fundraisers and most of its members are community members at large or represent other resourceful organizations throughout Alger County. The nonprofit also advocates for school clinics and helping schools fund a social worker, she added.

“Thereís a need in our community. And communities support other communities. Our (nonprofit) feels strongly about that; we feel that we needed to step up. We’re all neighbors and we take care of our neighbors,î” Torongo said.

The biggest motivator in accomplishing this mission came from Joe Norton at Family Fare in Munising as he assisted ACCTC staff with donations, ordering and support to get the ball rolling, Torongo said. The community has also been supportive in achieving this goal to give back with donations from Alger businesses including The Village Pub, Kiwanis Club of Alger County, U.P. Wilderness Towing, Skips Auto Repair and St. John’s Episcopal Church. Areas such as Kassals Rumley Store, The Silver Dollar in Trenary, The Chatham Pub, Autrain Grocery Store, Burt Township Schools, Autrain-Onota, the Drop in Center and Grand Marais Apartment have all offered to be drop off points during this difficult time, she added.

Monetary donations are in need and can be mailed to 413 Maple St., Munising, Michigan 49862 as food donations cannot be heavily utilized due to regulations from the state. ACCTC continues to work with schools and the Commission on Aging to identify those who are in most need and to fully utilize its “Alger Packs,” Torongo explained.

“If we can’t help now, why are we here? Alger County is an amazing county. The community here is always looking to support itself, and that has really helped our organization thrive here,î she said. ìThank you for all the support we have already received throughout our wonderful community. The people of the Upper Peninsula are a strong resourceful group and we will get through this together.î”

For more information, visit ACCTC’s Facebook page.

Jackie Jahfetson can be reached at jjahfetson@miningjournal.net.