What’s better than drinking beer and benefiting people in need at the same time?

The Ore Dock Brewing Co., 114 Spring St., Marquette, has launched its sixth annual Hops for Help, which offers community and business helpers the opportunities to help families in need.

Ore Dock will donate $1 from every pint sold of Glad Tidings, an English IPA brewed in the holiday spirit.

And glad tidings they are.

Ore Dock Production Manager Adam Robarge said the event has grown every year, with the Ore Dock again partnering with Feeding America West Michigan and the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan. Together the organizations distribute millions of pounds of food annually through networks that assist about 800,000 Michiganders.

Many businesses are taking part in this year’s Hops for Help as well, including Brogie’s Tavern in Ishpeming, Up North Lodge of Gwinn; and Steinhaus, Cafe Bodega, Hudson’s Classic Grill, Delft Bistro, Landmark Inn, Iron Bay Restaurant & Drinker, Stucko’s Pub & Grill, Aubree’s Pizzeria & Grill, Portside Inn, DIGS Gastropub, Vango’s Pizza and Cocktail Lounge, and the 906 Sports Bar & Grill, all of Marquette.

Unfortunately, there continues to be a need for nutritious food, both in Marquette County and the state of Michigan. Of the approximately 1.5 million food-insecure people in Michigan, 9,440 of them live in the county.

Being food-insecure means sometimes having to choose between paying the rent or buying nutritious food.

That’s a tough decision. Do you go hungry, or do you become homeless? These are basic needs. It’s not like someone has to choose between purchasing a regular coffee or a cappuccino, or jetting off to Hawaii or Tahiti.

There are plenty of giving campaigns during the holidays, but Hops for Help strikes us as a unique undertaking, considering it’s connected with alcohol consumption.

If people are going to drink anyway — and hopefully responsibly — why not put that to good use?

Food banks surely can use the help.