A major milestone was reached by local hunger fighting hero Mike Guinn in 2018! By day, Mike is an account manager living in Burleson. And by night during the holiday season, Mike runs the MG12K Food Drive to help provide food to hungry children, families and seniors in 13 North Texas counties. After six consecutive food drives, Mike’s efforts have resulted in raising a grand total of 13,964 pounds of food!
Local Support
Since 2013, Mike has rallied local businesses together in Burleson, Crowley, Fort Worth and other DFW cities to help him collect canned and boxed food items. Mike said “without support from small business owners, I would not be able to collect food and give drop off options to people that want to donate. A lot of them (local businesses) do promotions to generate buzz around the food drive.”
While Mike’s first run at the MG12K Food Drive in 2013 raised 214 pounds of food, in 2018, Mike and participating businesses raised 7,142 pounds! Over all six years combined, Mike’s efforts have provided 11,637 meals to hungry people. We asked Mike how it feels to help others in need. “It really does feel good to know that I’m helping so many people,“ Mike said. “It’s an amazing feeling to see the generosity total strangers have toward others and their willingness to give.”
Follow the hashtags #GivingBackFeelsGood and #MG12K to witness Mike’s food drive efforts over the years.
What Food Means
When asked what food means to him Mike responded, “Food is a strange thing. We need it to survive, but it is so much more.” Mike explained that food “brings people together in fellowship and brotherhood. It helps in time of healing and celebration. I love the fact that food gives us the opportunity to interact with people we love.”
Food Drive Tips
After leading food drive efforts for six years, we asked Mike to share his tips for anyone who is thinking of starting a food drive.
- Talk to everyone you can about your food drive. You don’t know who is willing to help you.
- Use social media as a tool to get the word out.
- Name your food drive or create a logo to help it stand out.
- Get as many food drive boxes as possible.
- Create a fun event to get people together around your cause.
- Don’t give up or let doubt set in. Even if you only donate one can of soup, that’s one can someone else really needs.
Hunger doesn’t know seasons or holidays. Food is needed year round for so many of our neighbors. You can start a food drive anytime. For more tips on running a food drive visit the Food Drive page on our website.
