The 47th annual Ken Stempowski Memorial Food Drive will benefit the Community Food Bank of Macomb County. Several drop-off locations are available in the city. The food drive ends Dec. 17.
By: Maria Allard | Sterling Heights Sentry | Published November 7, 2025
STERLING HEIGHTS — In the mid-1970s, Department of Public Works employee Ken Stempowski started a food drive to help local families in need.
The holiday tradition continued even after Stempowski passed away a decade later.
The city just kicked off the 47th annual Ken Stempowski Memorial Food Drive. This year, city officials are expanding the food drive by partnering with the Chaldean Community Foundation.
According to city officials, the food drive is continuing a decades-long tradition of supporting families in need, particularly because of the federal government shutdown and the temporary suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
“Ken’s legacy reminds us that one person’s compassion can create lasting change,” DPW Director Mike Moore said in a prepared statement. “This food drive has always been about neighbors supporting neighbors, and this year, that support means more than ever.”
Stempowski worked at the DPW from October 1969 to January 1987. In the mid-1970s he heard through his church members were collecting food for one of the local area banks. He decided to start up the same type of collection of food for those in need in the city. He recruited the help of his fellow DPW employees to begin an annual food drive.
According to Sterling Heights Marketing & Communications Manager Marissa Russo, Stempowski passed away after plowing during a snow emergency in January 1987 of a heart attack. In 1988, the employees of DPW kept the annual food drive alive in his memory and named it the Ken Stempowski Food Drive.
The food drive, which began Nov. 3, continues until Dec. 17. Nonperishable food donations and monetary contributions are both accepted. All donations benefit the Community Food Bank of Macomb County, which supplies food pantries and meal providers across Macomb County.