feds farmers and friends feed families

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service Midwest Regional Office collected 4100 pounds of food to support the Feds, Farmers and Friends Feed Families Initiative. We decided to make it fun event and include some of our partners and rename the Food Drive the Yellow Brick Road Food Drive, a spinoff of the Wizard of Oz.  We successfully recruited help and support from the Girl Scouts, CITGO Petroleum and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.   With the support of our partners and our managers, the MWRO team was victorious in defeating that “Wicked Witch” of hunger.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) partnered with the Office of Personnel Management to participate in the Feds, Farmers, and Friends Feed Families (F5), a food drive.  This food drive benefited local food banks identified by state and area/local USDA offices.

USDA Rural Development, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency employees delivered a bounty of fresh vegetables to Manna Ministries in Bangor on September 10. It marked the eleventh delivery of garden vegetables this summer. The heaps of fresh tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers and other offerings were from the recent harvest of The People’s Garden, a collaborative effort of the three USDA agencies. In addition, donations from staff members' own gardens were also accepted.

This summer I had the honor of organizing the Feds, Farmers and Friends Feed Families Food Drive for the Southwest Region Food and Nutrition Service.  As the human resources liaison for the region, I don’t get the opportunity to work directly with partners or clients so this food drive gave me a very unique perspective on hunger.  I collected food items, sent out reminders to staff and ensured delivery of the food to the North Texas Food Bank.