Ford is using the North American International Auto Show to showcase not only its cars, but also its philanthropy.
Nestled among ambulances and other vehicles Ford provides to help enable public service is a Transit Connect painted with the Gleaners Community Food Bank for Southeastern Michigan logo.
It is one of 13 Transit Connects that Ford and its dealers have donated since 2009 for use by local nonprofits and one of 34 it has deployed to bolster nonprofit efforts nationally.
The vans' use is managed by United Way for Southeastern Michigan, through a shared model, and United Way's logo is displayed on the Transit Connect alongside logos for Ford and Gleaners.
The vans are being used by Gleaners and other nonprofits such as Oak Park-based Forgotten Harvest as mobile food pantries, traveling into areas of Southeast Michigan not served by a bricks-and-mortar food pantry.