Laporte Man Asks Fellow Veterans to Join Him in Donating to Food Shelves

A local retired Army veteran is trying to encourage all veterans in the Lakeland viewing area to donate to their local food banks to help ensure that everyone has a bountiful Thanksgiving meal this holiday season.

Once Lt. Michael Deer of Laporte heard the news of SNAP benefits being suspended due to the ongoing government shutdown, he wanted to step up and do something. Deer will be donating $100 to his local food shelf and is asking all other veterans in the area to do the same before Veterans Day next week.

To encourage as many people as possible to make donations, Deer says he will match up to $1,000 if that amount is raised.

“I’m one man, what can I do?” asked Deer. “It’s about America’s veterans and what can they do. There’s 42 million Americans on the SNAP program, and my little $1,100 ain’t going to go very far … but I do what I can, and I ask my fellow veterans to do what they can.”

Deer says he will reach out to every veteran that he knows to encourage them to donate on or before Veterans Day next week, but any donations to local food shelves are always accepted.