The Food Drive & Beyond

Why Did You Do This? Congratulations! You all did an amazing thing collecting all of that food!

But Wait! Where does that good go? The food you collected definitely helps feed the hungry but how in the world does it get to them? People don’t just walk around handing out cans of food to homeless people living on the street!

Items you collected get picked up and brought to the product recovery (the BIG warehouse)

There’s a Lot of Food! Could you imagine having that box you collected food in left for someone to dig through to find the food they wanted? Multiply all that food by 100 or more and that’s the amount of food a person has to go through to find food they can eat.

It’s All About Sorting! Luckily the volunteers help sort the items. Marggaret and Margo are the ones in Middletown who do most of everything there (helping distribute food, accept donations, shelve food, make up toiletry bags etc.)

Thank You Volunteers! All donated items are inspected, cleaned and sorted by volunteers. Of course they need someone to watch over them (like Mr. J watches over you) Ruth Ann who collects any donations from Safeway bakery and eggs from a farmer (61-70 dozen) who lives in Tuscarora as well as is co-manager of the Food Bank, helps keep it running smoothly, oversees operations, and distributes food.

There’s Even More Volunteers! You all collected a lot of food. Every little bit helps and there are volunteers who get food from all over the place including grocery stores. Ellen M. and Ellen C., Stephanie, Dan who: receive the donations from Wegman's (bakery and fruit and vegetables), bring it to the Food Bank, separate it, distribute food, etc.

The food stays there until it is ready to be given out to a hungry family. There are open hours for Middletown Food Bank and the people come in to collect their food. The families sometimes have cars, sometimes someone drives them, or they walk.

Front Office Help! Of course any successful organization would be nothing without the front-runners (just like Mrs. Routzahn) the ladies who work the desk: Mary, Mary, Diana, and Ann.

Can you start to see the steps it takes for your food to get to the hungry? It takes a lot of hard work from a lot of people. Most food banks have volunteers that work a total of 5,000 hours a month. That’s 30-full time employees!

So What Now? You all did such a great job collecting food and I think you understand a little bit more of the process after the food leaves Wolfsville. The volunteers work really hard behind the scenes to make sure your food gets to hungry mouths. I want you all to write thank you letters for all of their efforts. This would be a really great way to finish your food drive.

How to Write a Letter Dear [Name of person]. If "Dear" sounds too formal to you and you know the person well, you can get away with "Hi", as in "Hi Michelle!" Thank you for the [what are they doing?]. Example: Thank you for sorting the food. At least one sentence about what they do is important to you. Ideally, make the sentence 2 parts, like the example below. This makes the note feel more sincere.Example: I am really amazed how you can sort through all of the food you get a day!

The Body of the Letter Tell the giver you appreciate the thought or time they put into it and the occasion for which the gift was given. Example: It is so great of you to volunteer to help feed the hungry. Mention something about how you understand how important their job is. Example: I think it’s really neat you collect food from Wegman’s to give to the hungry.

And Bringing it to a Close Sign off. "Love" is fine for family members and close friends. For others, some choices are "Yours Truly", "Regards", or "Warm Regards". Sign your name. Don't make this an autograph scrawl; neaten it up so you they know it's you.

We are going to write 6 letters (1 per person & me) Ruth who distributes the meats, eggs, and breads; Marggaret and Margo who do everthing i.e. helping distribute food, accept donations, shelve food, make up toiletry bags Ruth Ann who collects any donations from Safeway bakery and eggs from a farmer (61-70 dozen) who lives in Tuscarora as well as is co- manager of the Food Bank, helps keep it running smoothly, oversees operations, and distributes food; Mike who stocks shelves, handles deliveries and distributes food; John, Ellen M. and Ellen C., Stephanie, Dan who: receive the donations from Wegman's (bakery and fruit and vegetables), bring it to the Food Bank, separate it, distribute food, etc.; The ladies who work the desk: Mary, Mary, Diana, and Ann.