Meijer will be offering free junior deer hunting licenses at all Michigan stores from Sept. 14-15. The Walker-based retailer says the deal is valid for a single junior deer hunting license, which carries a $20 value, or a mentored youth hunting license. Children must be accompanied by an adult to get the license, which can be accessed at the sporting goods desk or by contacting customer service.

A new school year means the return to routine – and the challenge that goes along with that. Parents report that one task that tends to get long in the tooth quickly is keeping up with a menu of interesting school lunch ideas. Hectic schedules and daily chaos seem to zap creativity, leaving many to default to the same tired apple slices and celery sticks day after day.

Shoppers streamed into Meijer's Bridge Street Market Wednesday morning, marking the grand opening of the Walker-based retailer's new, small-format neighborhood grocery store on Grand Rapids' West Side. Inside, they found many of the staples that line the grocery-aisle shelves at Meijer's popular supercenters - milk, eggs, bread, cereal fresh fruits and vegetables, and meat and deli products.

Wednesday marked the grand opening for the Bridge Street Market on Grand Rapids’ west side. The Meijer store, located at 613 Bridge Street NW, is a new kind of store for Meijer and for the area near downtown Grand Rapids, serving a different clientele and a different purpose.

With an average store size of around 200,000 square feet, Meijer has made its name in retail by thinking big. But in order to keep growing, it’s going to try shrinking down — way down. Today marks the opening of the first Bridge Street Market, Meijer’s 37,000-square-foot grocery store located in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, mere miles from the company’s headquarters. The store features a variety of fresh foods, a bakery, full-service meat and seafood counters, a coffee shop and 2,000 grocery items ranging from Meijer store brands to locally sourced options.

Jessie Sullivan, Jack Sullivan and Jay Hanson make their own pixie sticks while attending the Meijer welcome back to school event, Meijer Mania, on Friday. Other activities included a planking challenge, photo booth, cookie challenge, raffle and more. At right, Northern Michigan University sophomore Devin Steinhaus, left, and junior Matt Swiec attempt to get a cookie in their mouth without using their hands during Meijer Mania. Event goers could participate in games such as these to win tickets to be entered into a raffle. (Journal photos by Trinity Carey)

Simply Give donation cards purchased at the Meijer store in Grand Haven Township will help local families. Love in Action has partnered with Meijer for the program. Customers can purchase $10 donation cards that will be converted into Meijer food gift cards given to a local food pantry. Simply Give cards purchased between now and Sept. 15 will benefit Love in Action food pantries.

Meijer was the first to bring home delivery to Michigan, now it's available at Meijer super centers in six states, offering 11 million households the flexibility to shop anytime, anywhere. The shopping experience is all about convenience, having a personalized shopper hand-select and deliver the order within a few hours.

Samaritan House has partnered with Meijer in order to provide hunger relief to families who depend on its food pantry donation program, Simply Give. "Samaritan House relies on the Simply Give Campaign throughout the year to stock our pantry shelves and to feed hungry families in our community," said Kathy Wojcik, executive director of Samaritan House, which is a community service organization. "We are indebted to Meijer for enabling us to pursue our mission of relieving hunger among the most vulnerable in northwestern Macomb County."

Shawn Colley from Meijer stopped by to show off some of the hottest looks for kids heading back to school.