Thank you! Your hard work inspires us to keep going and reach further. Your smiles, enthusiasm, and generous spirit lift the community up when the task at hand seems daunting.
National Volunteer Week runs April 12-18, and if we haven’t thanked you enough already, we hope you feel the love this week.
Food Shuttle programs Feed, Teach, & Grow a healthy, hunger-free North Carolina—but only because you show up day after day to keep our programs going.
In 2014 volunteers packed BackPack Buddies to feed 1,860 children every weekend, and grocery bags for 1,571 seniors every month.
Just last month, a few dozen volunteers completed SIX MONTHS worth of chores and projects at our Tryon Road Teaching Farm.
Whether you have been volunteering with IFFS for 25 years, or sign up today, your decision to give back MATTERS.
It MATTERS that you rescue food destined for the dumpster, and place it into the hands of people who can use it while it is still fresh. Volunteer driver Bob Starkes knows that first-hand:
[quote]Very recently I delivered some prepared food from the NC Highway Patrol cafeteria to the AME Shelter in Raleigh. They must have been very low on food that day, since one of the men helping receive the food looked me in the eye and said, “You sure saved us today.”[/quote]
It MATTERS that you teach children better nutrition, taking one step closer to changing our nation’s hunger and obesity crisis. Just ask volunteer nutrition educator Darlynn McCarter:
[quote]I ran into a parent of a Cooking Matters for Kids student and she enthusiastically shared her children’s love for Chinese chicken and vegetables and yogurt parfaits and their exploits in the kitchen since their Cooking Matters experience. What a great confirmation that the lessons carry forward both long term and to the family.[/quote]
When you volunteer your time with IFFS, you change lives – including your own. That’s what has kept Gail Christensen coming back for over a decade:
[quote]You will make a difference in many people’s lives. Seeing the faces of those to whom we delivered food is all the reward I need.[/quote]
As IFFS volunteers, you inspire us. You change lives. You build community. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.
Love, The Food Shuttle Staff
