Fort Huachuca, Arizona -- Last year was a banner year for the Feds Feed Families campaign.
The Department of Defense collected more than 3.2 million pounds of food and personal hygiene items for donation to local food banks and pantries. Commissary employees and their patrons contributed almost 50 percent or 1.6 million pounds of DOD's total.
"Our customers are the main driver behind the donations," said Randy Eller, DeCA's deputy director of logistics. "Their contributions have increased our total 66 percent from 2014."
The Feds Feed Families campaign, which runs through Aug. 31 this year, was created as a part of President [Barack] Obama's United We Serve campaign in 2009. The program was started to help food banks stay stocked throughout the summer, when they typically see fewer donations and increased demand. Through the program, almost 57.2 million pounds of food and other items have been donated by federal employees from all across the federal government.
This year commissary employees and patrons are pulling together again to collect donations of much needed nonperishable food and personal hygiene items. Customers can purchase prepacked donation bags in the store and placed in collection bins when entering or leaving. Customers may also donate items brought from home.
During last year's campaign, members of the Fort Huachuca community, including commissary employees with store-use privileges, contributed roughly 4,000 pounds of food. The largest donation came from the purchase of 339 pre-packaged food or health products bags assembled by commissary employees.
"We have participated in the Feds Feeding Families program since its inception," said Judy Mendez, manager, Fort Huachuca Commissary. "During the first few years, our numbers were low. However, in recent years we have been putting together bags of food and health-related items based on what the Chaplain's Food Locker here needs. Since then, the number of participants have been growing each year.
"The bags are convenient for our customers," Mendez said. "When we left it up to them to decide what to purchase, our numbers were low as customers weren't sure what to buy. Now, we pre-package bags of items and have conveniently located them in the display area inside the main entrance to the store. Posters, on display near the bags, explain the program. Each bag costs $10 and contains about 10 pounds of food," she explained. "All customers need to do is pick up a bag, put it in their cart, and pay for it at the checkout.
"Everything donated here goes to the Chaplain's Food Locker. Chapel personnel pick donated items up once a week," Mendez stated.
The most-needed items for donations include:
• Canned vegetables -- low sodium, no salt
• Canned fruits -- in light syrup or its own juices
• Canned proteins -- tuna, salmon, chicken, peanut butter and beans
• Soups -- beef stew, chili, chicken noodle, turkey or rice
• Condiments -- tomato-based sauces, light soy sauce, ketchup, mustard, salad dressing or oils
• Snacks -- individually packed snacks, crackers, trail mix, dried fruit, granola and cereal bars, pretzels and sandwich crackers
• Multigrain cereal
• 100 percent juice -- all sizes, including juice boxes
• Grains -- brown and white rice, oatmeal, bulgar, quinoa, couscous, pasta, and macaroni and cheese
• Paper products and household items -- paper towels, napkins, cleaning supplies
• Hygiene items -- diapers, deodorants (men and women), feminine products, toilet paper, tissues, soap, toothpaste and shampoo
"This is a very worthwhile program," Mendez stated. "During the summer, the Chaplain's Food Locker can be quite bare. Unlike during the [Christmas] holidays, people are focused on vacations and summer activities rather than donating food. The program makes it easy to give."
There have been no official goals set but, with the help of commissary employees and generous patrons, Eller thinks last year's numbers can be beat.
"Let's all give our full support to this fantastic program which feeds thousands of hungry Families across the United States, and work to have our best totals ever," he said.
For more information on the Feds Feed Families campaign, visit the U. S. Department of Agriculture website at http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=feds-feed-families.
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