Dearborn — Over 1350 pounds of non-perishable food was collected at a recent food drive held at Henry Ford Village, a full-service retirement community, in Dearborn.  Residents and staff alike gave generously to the Food Drive that was held between November 27 and December 1, 2007.  Cash donations were also accepted and presented along with the pantry staples to the regional Gleaners Food Bank.  The campus-wide project was a multi-departmental effort.  Student volunteers from Henry Ford Village’s dining services department collected the items from drop-off locations each day during the drive.  The items were then stored in a room donated by the Village’s  marketing department.  After the students packed the boxes for their final destination, the transportation department lent a van to carry the goods to the Detroit distribution center. According to Steven Szilvagyi,  St. Clair Dining Room service manager, “Gleaners distributes to more than 400 partner homeless shelters, soup kitchens, food pantries and other programs that are direct providers to the hungry people in our five county area.”   Szilvagyi continues, “Last year, Gleaners distributed nearly 25 million pounds of food.  Especially welcome are donations of nutritional items like peanut butter, tuna, canned soups, canned meats, and beef stew.” Henry Ford Village, built on the birth site of automotive industrialist Henry Ford, is a not-for-profit full-service retirement community.  It is managed by Erickson Retirement Communities of Baltimore, Maryland, and is one of 20 similar campuses developed and managed by Erickson throughout the country.  Erickson is an industry leader in providing active lifestyle campuses.