Critical aid programs for struggling residents in Elkhart were themselves rescued from budgetary woes this week by a surprise $40,000 corporate donation.
Bimbo Bakeries USA has been distributing free bread and other baked goods at special events and through food pantries and free meal programs, as part of a community relations effort in the hard-hit community. The $40,000 cash—split between Church Community Services and the United Way of Elkhart County—represents an substantial shot in the arm for food programs, as well as a free clinic, an emergency rental assistance program and a social-services call center.
“The surprise was the amount. They had been telling us for a month that they were giving us a gift,” says Dean Preheim-Bartel, executive director of Church Community Services, a faith-based nonprofit that has been squeezed by soaring demand and a tough fundraising environment. CCS will use some of the $20,000 it received to restock food pantry basics -- like peanut butter and Tuna Helper—and to provide emergency rental assistance, which it had discontinued due to dwindling funds. “It’s one of the largest gifts we’ve ever received, if not the largest. It’s certainly the largest corporate gift we’ve ever received.”
The other $20,000 to United Way of Elkhart County helps ease the pain after a dismal fundraising season last winter forced the nonprofit agency to make draconian budget cuts in its own staff and in funding of programs in the area, as reported in the Elkhart Project.
“The money is being sent out as we speak,” says Jerry Quatman, president of the agency. United Way is allocating its $20,000 to The Elkhart Food Network, a clinic that serves the poor and underinsured, and the 2-1-1 call center that provides social service information to people who are struggling. “It will make a huge difference in terms of more food access and health access.”
By doling out bread and cash in Elkhart, Bimbo also builds its reputation in Elkhart, where it is a newcomer. The company, a subsidiary of Mexico-based international company Grupo Bimbo, bought a local company, George Weston Bakeries in January, as part of an acquisition of 25 bakeries around the country.

   Mark Shephard / Elkhart Truth

Bimbo Bakeries staff and volunteers hand out bags of baked goods on June 13 in Elkhart to help people in need during tough economic times.

The company prides itself on community-involvement, but this is by far its largest such exercise in the United States—Elkhart due to the sudden surge in unemployment as the mainstay RV industry imploded. Bimbo gave away about 10,000 bags of baked goods in a one-day event in June, and expects to give away another 30,000 through a three-month commitment to local food pantries. The total value of the contribution, including the cash, is about $100,000.
“Grupo Bimbo is very much committed to giving back to communities they are in,” says Julie Spears, human relations manager for Bimbo USA. Even so, she says this is a “one-time event” for Elkhart. The next act of corporate philanthropy is likely to be focused somewhere else.
Nonetheless, Bimbo’s gift keeps some key services on line for now, and provides a boost to morale at the same time.
“They don’t know what they will be able to do in the future,” says Quatman of United Way. “But that they want to participate in community life. For a company to step up and say we want to make a big splash and do this—it’s a big deal.”