Bandit Industries is proud to be a supporter and sponsor of the annual Cans From Race Fans food drive that merges the generosity of racing fans with the need of a local soup kitchen. Over the last eight years, more than 60,000 pounds of food and thousands of dollars have been raised and donated in Isabella County, Mich., because of the unwavering generosity of the Isabella County community.

For the last six years, the money and food has gone to benefit the Mt. Pleasant-based Isabella Community Soup Kitchen, a non-profit that prepares more than 100 meals six days a week to help feed the hungry in Isabella County. Cans From Race Fans is held every April at the parking lot of Ric’s Food Center in downtown Mt. Pleasant.

The most recent food drive in April resulted in 3,280 pounds of food being donated to the Isabella Community Soup Kitchen. That food will be used to cook breakfast and lunch for people from all walks of life, said ICSK Executive Director Kim Friedrich.

“It’s just really wonderful,” she said. “The support from Cans From Race Fans and Bandit is incredible. It’s a great group of people working together for such a worthy cause. We can’t express our thanks enough as we all work together to make sure everyone in our community has enough to eat.”

Cans From Race Fans is starting to take off around the Midwest, said organization founder and dirt track racer Alvie Haynes. Dirt tracks throughout Michigan, Ohio and Indiana are holding food drives for local food kitchens under the Cans From Race Fans banner. In every event, 100 percent of the food and cash donated at the events are passed on to local organizations.

“In Michigan alone, we’ve done over 100,000 pounds in the last eight years,” he said. “If we get dirt-track racing fans together, there’s no limit to the good we will accomplish. Our goal is to have every dirt track in the United States get involved.”

With so many racing fans part of the Bandit family, it made perfect sense for Bandit to get involved with the food drive.

“Looking back at the eight years of our partnership with Cans From Race Fans, Bandit swells with pride knowing that we’ve been a part of such an amazing organization,” said Aaron Sorrels, Bandit’s marketing manager. “We’ve been a supporter in the annual food drive, helping them in any way we can. But the real heroes are the people who come out and support Cans From Race Fans and donate food and money. It’s their continuing participation that makes the food drive such a success.”

For more information, call 800/952-0178 or visit www.banditchippers.com.

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