With thoughts of turkey, family, and holidays in mind, FrontStreamers from the Washington DC office made their way to the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) for a day of volunteering last week. Serving over 700,000 people struggling with hunger in the Washington Metro area, CAFB serves as a hub for food sourcing, food distribution and nutrition education. Impressively, the Food Bank distributes 42 million pounds of food annually, roughly 35 million meals, to those in need.
Sourced from community food drives, personal contributions and mass donations from grocery stores, the Food Bank relies on volunteers and a small staff to organize food and manage a variety of tasks. No easy feat considering the sheer size of the 123,000 square foot distribution center!
Our next assignment required us to fill boxes to the brim with baking goods, side dishes, drinks, and pasta/rice. With ease, our task coordinators assigned jobs to each of us, creating a seamless and well-oiled machine of volunteers. Once each of us held the proud title of either box maker, box stuffer, or box sealer, we quickly worked through the handful of large food crates to finish the assignment.
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“I always enjoy volunteering at the Capital Area Food Bank. It’s amazing to play a small part in a massive and organized operation that helps thousands of families in our area.” says William Ross, a FrontStream employee. “It’s fascinating to see how much really goes into getting food to the doorstep of those in need and more than rewarding to participate in the process.”
You can get involved and help end hunger in the nation’s capital by donating food, funds, or time to the Capital Area Food Bank. As the organization’s motto goes, “together we can solve hunger.”
Show your support: http://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/