Community Corner

Saline Area Social Service Running Low On Supplies For Less Fortunate

Donations are down and demand is up at Saline Area Social Service.

For many, summer means vacations up north, a dip in the pool and many happy returns to the ice cream parlor.

But for others, summer means it’s harder to put food on the table.

The combination of vacationing donors and needier families is clearing the shelves at Saline Area Social Service, a local agency dedicated to helping people get back on their feet.

Find out what's happening in Salinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“During the school year, there are a lot of people who do food drives for us—classes, churches, families. In the summer, everyone takes off and we get fewer donations,” said Donald Dersnah, Director of Services for the agency, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. “But that doesn’t mean the need has dropped.”

In fact, Dersnah said, the opposite is often true.

Find out what's happening in Salinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“The needs are often higher because the kids who ordinarily receive free or reduced-price lunches at school are at home now,” Dersnah said. “Our requests for assistance go up, and our donations go down.”

is putting out a call for donations.

“We need everything,” said Dersnah. “We can take anything but non-perishable food. We can even take some perishables if we know they are coming. If someone calls ahead and says they are harvesting their carrots, we’ll accept them”

Dersnah said the people who use Saline Social Service can use paper products and household items like soaps, detergents and hygiene products.

“Most of our clients receive food assistance. But you can’t use food assistance to buy non-food items, so they are in a pinch for things like paper products and cleaning supplies,” Dersnah said.

The organization also accepts financial donations, which are tax deductible.

Saline Area Social Service is at 131 E. Michigan Ave. For more information, visit www.salinesocialservice.com or call 734-429-4570.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here