NEW BUFFALO — The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ Four Winds Casinos have announced a donation of 1,000 baskets of food to those in need across northern Indiana and southwest Michigan.

Employees at Four Winds Casinos, in cooperation with several local organizations, began delivering the baskets Tuesday, including 330 baskets in South Bend distributed to families through the Food Bank of Northern Indiana. Each basket includes a turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn and a pumpkin bread roll.

Organizations participating in the basket delivery include the Food Bank of Northern Indiana in South Bend, Indiana; Pokagon Band of Potawatomi in Dowagiac; Decatur Human Services in Decatur; the Methodist Church in Hartford; Child & Family Services of Southwest Michigan in Benton Harbor; and Marcellus Food Bank in Marcellus.

“We’re deeply aware that hunger is something faced every day by kids, seniors and families in our region. It’s particularly challenging during the holidays,” said Frank Freedman, chief operating officer of Four Winds Casinos. “It’s why we’re honored to work with these community agencies whose mission is to fight and eliminate hunger.”

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ sovereignty was reaffirmed under legislation signed into law by President Clinton in September of 1994. The Pokagon Band is dedicated to providing community development initiatives such as housing, education, family services, medical care and cultural preservation for its approximately 5,000 citizens, officials said.

The Pokagon Band’s 10-county service area includes four counties in southwestern Michigan and six in northern Indiana. Its main administrative offices are located in Dowagiac, with a satellite office in South Bend.

In 2007, it opened Four Winds Casino Resort in New Buffalo, followed by Four Winds Hartford in 2011 and Four Winds Dowagiac in 2013. Four Winds South Bend will open in early 2018.

It owns and operates a variety of business via Mno-Bmadsen, the tribe’s non-gaming investment enterprise.

More information is available at pokagonband-nsn.gov, fourwindscasino.com and mno-bmadsen.com.