We are fortunate to live in a thriving business community, where business leaders understand the importance of giving back. Last week , that gift came in the form of VOLUNTEERS…enthusiastic, spirited, and hardworking employees from area Targets and Fifth Third Bank.
Target brought almost 100 team members from 10 stores out to volunteer and glean strawberries at Smith's Nursery and Produce Farm in Benson! They picked 850 lbs of strawberries (the most strawberries we've ever gleaned in a single day - way to go!) for the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to distribute to those in need. Each store also donated over $100 worth of food for BackPack Buddies!
Check out some highlights from their day of gleaning:
Fifth Third was also at Inter-Faith Food Shuttle all last week volunteering through our various innovative hunger-relief programs. They really got to engage with the work that we do in many arenas to end hunger in our community. They helped with direct hunger relief, providing food to those who are hungry right now in our community, and they also helped with our farms and gardens program, which helps to grow a healthy, vibrant local community by increasing access to local foods and empowering people to take control of their own food resources.
On Monday, Fifth Third Bank brought in 480 pounds of canned goods collected from their Garner, Cary, Blue Ridge Bank, Blue Ridge Office, and Six Forks locations!
On Tuesday, a group bagged and delivered produce and grocery bags for low-income seniors and families.
On Wednesday they were out on our Raleigh Teaching Farm, weeding and mulching rows of beets, threshing arugula seeds, and more!
Thursday they headed out to our Community Garden at Alliance Medical Ministry where they helped harvest turnips, plant tomatoes, hill some rows, spread cover crop, and did some light weeding and composting.
And on Friday, they returned to our warehouse to pack BackPacks for our BackPack Buddies program providing weekend meals for food insecure children in our 7 county service area. It was a pleasure having the Fifth Third Bank team around IFFS all week, and it was great to see the group come out as a workplace to make a difference, helping to end hunger in their local community!
To find out about more opportunities to volunteer with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, visit our volunteer page here and sign up to learn about new opportunities to get involved.