USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service Midwest Regional Office collected 4100 pounds of food to support the Feds, Farmers and Friends Feed Families Initiative. We decided to make it fun event and include some of our partners and rename the Food Drive the Yellow Brick Road Food Drive, a spinoff of the Wizard of Oz. We successfully recruited help and support from the Girl Scouts, CITGO Petroleum and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. With the support of our partners and our managers, the MWRO team was victorious in defeating that “Wicked Witch” of hunger.
We were lead by our team leader, Angela Jones aka Dorothy. Angela was responsible for leading the FNS team to the home of the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD). The GCFD distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 650 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters to 678,000 adults and children in Cook County every year.
Angela’s cast of characters included: the Tin Man – Michelle Stewart for having the heart of our programs and motivating the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) staff to collect the most food without the assistance of outside partners. The Cowardly Lion – Mavia Fletcher, Angela Jones, and Kimberly Phillips for having the courage to reach out to the Girl Scouts, CITGO and HHS to assist in our food drive efforts. The Scarecrow – Florence Cannon and Kahlia Legget for thinking outside the box when it came to collecting pounds of food. The Good Witch – Pam Gray for creating an excel spreadsheet that captured all the food collected by the Midwest Region. The Wizards – Ollice Holden and Tim English for supporting the Department Wide Initiative. And last, but not least, the Munchkins– All the MWRO employees who contributed to the worthy cause of putting a dent in hunger.
Overall, the food drive was a success and we look forward to our next big adventure to help end hunger.
