DETROIT (WXYZ) — It was a typical Thursday at Gleaners Community Food Bank until they received a surprising phone call. It was a member of Taylor Swift's team calling to let Gleaners know that Swift had chosen them with a generous gift.
"Not in our wildest dreams would we have expected to hear from Taylor Swift's team," Gleaners spokesperson Kristin Sokul said.
The global pop icon, who is in Detroit as part of her Eras Tour, was making a donation to help Gleaners and their mission to fight hunger.
"She just has this generosity of spirit in wanting to take care of others," Sokul said.
The amount of the donation is not being disclosed, but Sokul said it will help feed thousands in the five counties Gleaners serves — Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe and Livingston.
And the donation comes at a time when the food bank expects to be helping an increased number of children who will be out for summer break and not receiving meals they would typically receive in school.
"We know that child hunger is increasing," Sokul said. "We use our free and reduced lunch numbers as an indicator of what food insecurity looks like for our communities. And last year, that number was higher than at the peak of the pandemic."
Gleaners is in need of volunteers, so if you'd like to help or make a donation, you can visit gcfb.org. If you'd like to find out where food support is available in your area, please visit pantrynet.org.
