Farm-to-Table Gleaning Operation Provides Major Boost to New Record Donation
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Nov. 13, 2015) – More than 128,000 meals will be served in the coming year with food donated by staff of the National Credit Union Administration to the annual Feds Feed Families food drive.
Agency employees donated 153,752 pounds of food during the 2015 drive, a 65 percent increase from the previous year. A major contributor to the success of this year’s food drive was a gleaning operation led by Terri Finley-Harrigan, of the Office of Public and Congressional Affairs, and Angela Sanders, of the Board Chairman’s office, that yielded 103,300 pounds of food. Finley-Harrigan and Sanders collected food from warehouses and direct from farms.
“These tremendous results happen because of the dedication, teamwork, creativity and enthusiasm of NCUA staff.” NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz said. “It’s wonderful that NCUA’s contribution grew so strongly, but the important point is that thousands of people will have meals they might well have missed. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes life a little easier for people in need.”
NCUA’s 2015 donation is the equivalent of the take-off weight of a Boeing 737, two adult humpback whales, 44 Toyota Camrys, 2,795 English bulldogs or 20,501 average newborns.
Donations from agency’s Central Office employees went to the Capital Area Food Bank (opens new window). Through direct delivery and partnership with nearly 470 community organizations, the food bank serves more than 540,000 people annually. Donations included fresh food, whole-grain foods, canned fruits and vegetables, soups and stews, baking goods and baby food. Food banks around the country benefited from contributions by the agency’s regional offices.
Sixty NCUA employees entered the Feds Feed Families Hall of Fame this year with individual donations of 250 pounds or more. Fourteen employees reached the Platinum level (1,000 pounds or more). Twenty-eight reached the Gold level (500 to 999 pounds). Eighteen reached the Silver level (250 to 499 pounds).
NCUA’s Region V office, in Tempe, Arizona, again led the agency by contributing 18,378 pounds of food. The largest contribution in the agency’s Central Office came from the Office of Public and Congressional Affairs, with 3,537 pounds of food donated.
The seventh annual Feds Feed Families food drive ran from July 15 to Oct. 2. Federal workers donated more than 17 million pounds of food and other non-perishable items to support families in need across America. The donations from the Feds Feed Families food drive are especially important, because they come at a time of year when donations traditionally decline.