LDS Relief Society volunteer day at Foodshare

On Saturday, 96 women from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Relief Society came to Foodshare for half day of service to the community.  After a short program (including a powerful video that can be found here), the group dug into five different tasks that the Foodshare team had prepared from them and in total, they sorted and packaged for distribution 26,965 pounds of food, including:

·         Bread -  14 pallets of 30 boxes each, 8,700 Lbs.

·         Fresh Produce (carrots, onions) - 6,500 Lbs.

·         Frozen Meat - 186 boxes at 30 Lbs each = 5,580 Lbs.

·         Crackers - 2,385 Lbs.

·         Ice Cream - 3,800 Lbs.

Some of the group also cut and tied hundreds of the mesh bags that Foodshare uses to package fresh produce for distribution.

Several Foodshare staff committee their Saturday morning to help with this project, including Alicia, Andrece, Bob, Cindy, Danny, Dom, Eric, Gaye, Joe, Leroy, Liz, Mac, and Paula.  Long time volunteer, Fred, also joined the effort.  Thank you to all of them!

We heard great feedback from the participants, including:

·         “I had no idea that Foodshare was so big and did so much!”

·         “I didn’t know that you actually supplied pantries and shelters, I only knew about the Mobile trucks.”

·         Lots of interest as individuals, families, friends and youth groups coming in to volunteer

·         Very friendly, great staff

·         “I saw that you have a position open - I am applying!”

·         “This was a great event.  We had fun, but also felt like we accomplished something meaningful.”

·         “I hope we do something like this every year.”

·         “One of the best Relief Society activities I've been to. We need to do more of this!”

·         “I appreciated being reminded of why we serve.  What a worthwhile project!”

 The Relief Society Facebook Group is public with even more photos and comments from the participant:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/568967996513347/