Outdoors Shows by Showspan

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – Generous sportsmen and sportswomen in West Michigan have donated over 200,000 pounds of non-perishable food items over the last 17 years to help feed the less fortunate members of our community through the Annual Tony Gates/Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger Food Drive. This year's food drive will be Thursday, March 16, during opening day of the Ultimate Sport Show, at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids.

Bring six boxes or cans (4 pounds minimum) of non-perishable food items to DeVos Place on Thursday and receive a pass for free admission to the Show that day only – a $10 value for adults.

Volunteers from area sportsmen's clubs will collect the donations for the food drive and donate it to God's Kitchen of Catholic Charities West Michigan and other West Michigan distribution centers for people in need.

The annual drive is spearheaded by Tony Gates, the popular WLAV-FM morning show host, and brings in several tons of food each year from thousands of donors.

From 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on March 16, Gates will broadcast from an RV at 303 Monroe Street NW in front of DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids. Some donors, in a hurry to get to work, can drop off sacks of food but don't have time to accept the free pass to the show.

"The generosity of sportsmen and sportswomen from West Michigan is unsurpassed. Their annual donations to the Tony Gates/Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger Food Drive make this the largest single-day food drive in Michigan," said Ultimate Sport Show Manager Ben Nielsen. "We're thrilled that Tony Gates will once again lead the charge and we're delighted to be able to host it again this year."

The Ultimate Sport Show runs through Sunday, March 19. For more information visit: http://showspan.com/USG/