Michigan started Craft Beer Week out with a bang with last week’s Beer City USA poll.

Grand Rapids, which tied for first place last year alongside Asheville, North Carolina,  took exclusive rights to the title this year, getting over twice as many votes as any other nominated city. Kalamazoo took second place, with Asheville slipping to third, cementing Michigan’s reputation as The Great Beer State.

Students at Sibley Elementary are doing their part to help stop invasive plants from taking over Millennium Park.

On May 14,  students removed Garlic Mustard from the park, replacing the invasive plant with native plant seed balls they formed themselves.  Preventing the spread of Garlic Mustard helps keep the food supply intact for birds, butterflies and other wildlife.

Last year, Sibley students built nesting boxes to support the wood duck population.   A spokesman for the Grand Rapids Public Schools says activities like this teach students the importance of preservation and show them how they can make a difference.

A pantry spokesperson says one of the nation’s largest food collection drives “went off without a hitch” in West Michigan.

Saturday, May 11 was the annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.  Letter carriers picked up bags of donations left at mailboxes throughout the Grand Rapids area.  Andrew Steiner with Feeding America West Michigan says seven area post office branches collected about 150,000 pounds of food, and more is expected to trickle in throughout the week. 

Steiner says 190 volunteers helped Feeding America West Michigan staff members and letter carriers collect, sort and ship the food to the pantry’s warehouse in Comstock Park.  The donations are expected to provide roughly 117,000 meals to the one in six people struggling with hunger in West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.

 Participating post offices include:

• Northwest (1625 Walker NW, Grand Rapids): 32,635 pounds
• Patterson/East Paris (3970 South Green