News Photo by Darby Hinkley
Pictured, Jason Barbeau and Bobby Barrigar, of Farm Bureau Insurance, stand in entrance of the refrigerated trailer that can be heading downstate this weekend to be used to distribute meals throughout Michigan. The Farm Bureau Agent Charitable Fund, established in 2018 by Barrigar and different founders, has a mission of ending starvation in Michigan.
ALPENA — This Michigan firm is doing what it could to finish starvation in Michigan.
Bobby Barrigar is a founding father of the Farm Bureau of Michigan Agent Charitable Fund, established in 2018 as a means for agents to come collectively to give again to the neighborhood and state and make a much bigger influence.
“The group of Farm Bureau agents got together,” and requested, “What kind of splash could we make if we pooled our money through all of the agents across Michigan, because we’re a Michigan-based company, how big of a splash could we make if we pooled the resources in together?” Barrigar requested. “So we threw that out to the agents at our agency convention, and we said we’d like to initially raise some money tonight, when all the agents were together, and see what the interest is in launching this Agent Charitable Fund.”
The response was instant and large.
“We raised approximately $375,000 that night,” Barrigar mentioned.
Barrigar is a founding member and would be the president of the ACF in January, he mentioned.
“All of the agents, 400-some agents across Michigan, are what helped donate to this,” Barrigar mentioned. “At the beginning, in ’18, we got with Dr. Phil Knight, who heads the Food Bank Council of Michigan, and we said, ‘Our mission is to end hunger in Michigan, so what can we do to work alongside you guys to help?’ And he said, ‘We need refrigerated trucks badly.’ So we decided we are going to donate to them one refrigerated truck a year, for five years. And this is our third trailer.”
Barrigar owns Farm Bureau Insurance Robert Barrigar Agency in Alpena, and Jason Barbeau is opening the Farm Bureau Insurance Jason Barbeau Agency in Rogers City on Monday.
Both males are enthusiastic about doing what they’ll to finish starvation in Michigan.
“It’s nice working for a company with a mission to help support the communities that we’re in,” Barbeau mentioned.
Barrigar defined plans for the refrigerated trailer.
“It’s going to Saint John’s on Saturday,” Barrigar mentioned of the 53-foot trailer, which was parked exterior of Omega Electric in Alpena on Thursday. “We purchase the trailer, and Omega wraps it for us, and they give us an amazing deal to do the wrap. And then we’ve got ‘Alpena, Michigan’ put right on the back. So, this will travel the whole state and be picking up and delivering food for kids, with our hometown traveling around on the back.”
Barrigar is extraordinarily grateful for the generosity of those that have contributed to the Agent Charitable Fund, to allow them to proceed working with the Food Bank Council of Michigan to present nourishment to families statewide.
“Their plan is to have one of these refrigerated trailers at each region across Michigan,” Barrigar defined.
Food can be distributed by regional meals banks all through the state.
For extra details about the Farm Bureau of Michigan Agent Charitable Fund, or to donate, go to EndHungerInMichigan.org.
The Agent Charitable Fund is a donor-advised fund throughout the Michigan Foundation for Agriculture. It serves as a fund for Farm Bureau agents, shoppers, and companions to contribute to charitable causes all through Michigan. Following the aim and imaginative and prescient of the Michigan Foundation of Agriculture, the fund grants monies to present meals, construct agriculture consciousness, educate and assist residents all through the state.
