The Mission
The New Hampshire Food Bank is the only operating food bank in the state, consistently supplying more than 400 hunger relief agencies with non-perishable food items, fresh produce and meats. Every year, millions of pounds of food and meals are collected and distributed to families in our communities by the generous volunteers and staff at the facility. This year, our marketing department participated in one of the many volunteering opportunities the food bank offers in a program called Fresh Rescue.
Fresh Rescue involves sorting through the thousands of pounds of meats and assorted packaged foods that are donated to the facility by supermarkets to be distributed to food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, senior centers and more across the state of New Hampshire. It is a huge, organized operation that we are lucky to have been a part of – if only for a short while.
Our Experience
Armed with clean gloves and what to toss flashcards, we dove into the dozens of boxes of frozen meats brought out for us on pallets with a forklift. Spoiled meats, torn packaging and unsealed containers were chucked into a throw-out box, while everything else was categorized and combined into boxes, weighed and stacked for distribution.
In just three hours, our small team was able to sort through 5,464 total pounds of frozen items. We threw away 1,764 pounds, leaving 3,700 pounds of foods to be categorized. That filled 121 distribution boxes, which equaled 3,083 meals to be shipped to people in need!
Volunteering in our communities is highly encouraged at Hoyle, Tanner and we were happy to give back! Special thanks to Nicole Dutka and the Fresh Rescue team for coordinating and making it a memorable experience for our group.
