With just over three weeks left in the 2011 Feds Feed Families campaign, we are nearing the finish line of what has been an extraordinary show of support, commitment and compassion from USDA employees across the country.
For example, the Office of Personnel Management has created an OPM Hall of Fame for those Federal employees who make personal Feds Feed Families donations exceeding 250 pounds of food. Not surprisingly, USDA is leading the Federal government with at least 48 OPM Hall of Fame inductees. Together, these 48 USDA employees donated a combined total of 27,165 pounds of food!
Beyond our impressive Hall of Fame inductees, USDA employees in the field continue to share their inspiring stories with us. In California, Butte County Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) staff worked with Pacific Coast Producers in Oroville, Calif., to donate 4,367 pounds of food to the North State Food Bank! Their generous donation will go far in helping feed the hungry throughout Butte, Yuba, Sutter, Glenn, Colusa, Plumas and Sierra Counties.
Also in California, the Dixon Service Center worked with Robben Farms, who generously donated 2,513 pounds of bagged, dry canario beans to The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Counties.
In Brattleboro, Vt., the Rural Development (RD) office is partnering with their neighbors at the Organic Trade Association (OTA) to provide donations two local organizations. The OTA has contributed food, coupons and recipe booklets to the Feds Feed Families food drive. Among the beneficiaries of RD and OTA’s generous support are the Deerfield Valley Food Pantry, which feeds approximately 80 families in eight southern Vermont towns, and the Morningside Shelter, which recently received RD funding to expand their shelter facility to house an additional two homeless families. Both organizations are worthy causes and are lucky to have support of RD employees in Vermont!
Next week, Secretary Vilsack will announce the food donation totals from the month of July. While I am confident the numbers will be impressive, I’m also confident that we still have not yet met our goal of 500,000 pounds of food donated. So, let’s keep pushing all the way through the finish line and make the most of these last three weeks!
To learn more about how you can participate in the Feds Feed Families effort click here.
