Michigan Bread in Taylor donates bread to charity, especially seniors

TAYLOR (FOX 2) - With empty store shelves, bread has become one of the hardest staples to find but a few Taylor businesses are working to fill that void.

“The grocery stores are getting bombarded,” said Mike Sanfilippo, partner of Michigan Bread.

And bombarded with a problem. Michigan Bread is one of the largest suppliers of bread to restaurants in the state. The company has had to shut down some lines due to the coronavirus, but Sanfilippo is working to change the business model.

“Now because of the virus we have to change and get into a different lane,” he said.

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That lane he’s talking about is retail.

“We reached out to Kroger at the beginning of the week. They’re giving us the opportunity to serve 90 Kroger (stores) for them because the other bakeries in the community can't fill their shelves for them,” Sanfilippo said.

But before the change, Mike's got a lot of extra bread to give away. The word is getting out -- Michigan Bread is helping so many charities.

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Everyone in Taylor knows of Pete's Place, and Pete is helping out as well with bread.

“(We decided) to go and give away bread today with every purchase when a customer comes in and have it available to them during these hard times,” said owner Pete Ochab.

Sanfilippo says when he gets a call from a charity thanking him, he gets a little choked up. It’s especially personal when it comes to helping out seniors.

“My father's a vet, he's 92. He’s in a senior living facility right now -- I can't go see him. I just want to help people, I want to help the economy get through what we’re struggling with,” he said.