FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (Nov. 22, 2017) - - Employees from the headquarters of installation management showed their holiday spirit by collecting and donating food items for community neighbors in need. The day before Thanksgiving, the San Antonio Food Bank made their fifth consecutive regular stop at the U.S. Army Installation Management Command and picked up several barrels of food donations while a live band played.
This year's total for donations for the 5th annual IMCOM/Army Environmental Command Thanksgiving Food Drive were 585 pounds of food and $639 in monetary donations, according to Food Bank officials.
Training Management Officer Billie Gladney, Chief of Solider Training Support Program, Rodolfo Morales-Miranda, TADSS Specialist Steve Kuhaida, Management and Program Analyst, Karen Butler, and Program Management Analyst, Guy Niles with IMCOM HQ coordinated and conducted the 2017 food drive.
"I retired from Lackland [Air Force Base] and I wanted to be here to thank everyone and let them know we deeply appreciate their support," said Louie Guzman, corporate giving manager at the San Antonio Food Bank. He spoke briefly to IMCOM employees during a noon-time ceremony.
"I'm from here, I grew up in Converse [Texas] and back before there was the S.A. Food Bank, my family and I would be at home Wednesday before Thanksgiving and wonder if 'tomorrow' was going to happen," Guzman testified about his childhood experiences. "Then people like you all would knock on our door at night and give us food."
According to Guzman, these are the busiest times for the S.A. Food Bank, with school-age children home for the holidays, so some families need to come up with two additional meals that the school would normally provide. Donations from the community directly help satisfy that need.
"I want to thank you all for being those people for these families," Guzman said. "Thank you for your generosity."
San Antonio Food Bank sends a refrigerated truck to participating organizations at Fort Sam Houston and other locations throughout the city.
The Food Bank has already received many donations from military and corporate donors this year, according to Food Bank employee Chris Wheland, who had made stops across the city that morning.
"We come out to events like this one to thank everyone involved for their generosity. Their donations help relieve the family's stress," Guzman said with appreciation. "This is my third time back to your food drive, every year the donations increase."
The top items the food bank looks for include peanut butter, cereal, pasta, canned goods, canned protein, nutritious canned items and pull-top lids. The organization is proud of its 2% overhead cost; the remaining 98% goes to the rest of the programs including their most important, children and seniors.
The donations this year were in food and monetary form, both are needed and accepted by the bank. "We need food items but money we can stretch further. We can take a dollar and make it seven dollars by buying more cans," Guzman said. "The top four things we look for in donations are food, money, time and voice."
People have most recently donated all four of these to aid with the multiple hurricanes that hit the coast and surrounding islands. "The city really came through, as well as the nation. We received truck loads from Chicago, New Jersey and El Paso. We partnered with Tim Duncan and HEB and donated 80,000 pounds of food for the Virgin Islands," Guzman said.
Guzman served in logistics in the U.S. Air Force for 22 years in logistics.
The "Jammin' With the G-Staff Band" performed for Guzman and various military personnel during lunch time. The band is made up of IMCOM civilian employees including Rodolfo Morales-Miranda, and Robert Dozier, Chief of Public Communication, plus Adrian Salinas, Army Environmental Command, and featured Rubie Blake and Sgt.1st Class Charmakeitha Smith on vocals.
The IMCOM staff is planning to hold a Toys for Tots drive next month in preparation for Christmas.
For more information about the San Antonio Food bank visit: http://www.safoodbank.org
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U.S. Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation
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