The most memorable part of the meeting for me was the hands on tour of the Food Bank facility. First what is saw was food, lots of food. Or at lease it seemed that was until it was explained that over 20,475 hampers a year are handed out. Although there seemed to be an abundance of product, it was the selection that is the Food Banks challenge. They explained many people when they donate food during a food drive or drop a few cans in the local grocery store food bank bin chose to donate soup. Although the food bank explained they were so grateful for any sort of donation, they didn't need more soup, they had so much they actually rent additional warehouse space just to store the excess. The next time you donate to the food bank choose protein based products like peanut butter, tuna and even Lima beans. These are the items they really need to round out a healthy hamper.
Please feel free to stop into your local food bank and drop off your donations directly to the volunteers. How about a little random act of kindness and bring some coffee and doughnuts for the volunteers and staff and roll up your sleeves for an hour or two. I'm sure they would welcome you with open arms. This year they will need over 26,000 volunteer hours so every bit helps.
I was excited to learn they also host team and culture building volunteer time for companies who want to share the experience with their staff. Van City makes it a mandatory part of their onboarding process for new staff. I can say that Lykki will definitely add this idea to our team building.
Cheers
Calvin
