Who We Are - A Simple Gesture
Feeding Neighbors in Metro Detroit One Bag at a Time
Our ASG model makes it easy for donors to give food:
- Donors fill a reusable bag with nonperishable food.
- On a designated date, donors leave their bags on their porch.
- Volunteer drivers pick up the food, leave an empty bag for the next pick up, and take the food donations directly to the food pantry partners in their community.
Founders - National and MI Chapter
Our Founder's Story
“A Simple Gesture” was started by Jonathan Trivers, who lives in Paradise, California. Jonathan is retired and was looking for a way to give back to his community.
Jonathan believed that there was enough food in his town to feed everyone, but found that there was no easy way to get the food to the neediest people. Using his professional experience in marketing, he slowly and gradually came up with A Simple Gesture.
As word spread about the program, it was enthusiastically embraced by many citizens. Paradise, California, is a small town of 35,000 people and about 14,000 households. There are now more than 1,700 food donors and numerous volunteer drivers who help collect over 132,000 pounds of food each year. In addition, over 65 communities across the country have now started A Simple Gesture's food collection model in their towns.
Jonathan's vision is for ASG National to help communities establish A Simple Gesture in their area and hopes hundreds of towns and communities will adopt the program.
How ASG Got to Michigan
Chapter Founder Sam Macher began working with the Reston, Virginia branch of A Simple Gesture in 2018, first as a donor and then as a driver. During her time there, she and her husband, Bryce, saw what an incredible impact that this effort had on the local community.
Every other month, the Machers would pick up a carload (sometimes more) of food and deliver it to local collection center where it was offloaded by volunteers with shopping carts at the ready. They were moved by their neighbors' efforts and kindness.
Hundreds of donors and volunteers participate every year which translates to about 25 thousand pounds of food per pickup (over 1 Million pounds since they started). Though Northern Virginia didn't seem like a "high need area" when they first started out, it was a valuable lesson that hunger has no zip code.
Sam hopes that she can replicate even a little bit of the success she had in Virginia here in Metro Detroit. She is partnering with Food Gatherers, who will receive all donations at this time.