ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Sept. 21, 2016) – Donations from National Credit Union Administration staff to the annual Feds Feed Families food drive will provide 57,308 meals in the coming year.
Agency employees donated a total of 68,770 pounds of food during the 2016 drive, which ran from June 1 through Aug. 31. The total includes 13,894 pounds of fresh food from local farms saved by several NCUA employees and family members in a warehouse gleaning operation.
“NCUA staff has once again demonstrated generosity and community spirit in giving back to help people in need,” NCUA Board Chairman Rick Metsger said. “As a result of their selfless efforts, thousands of people in the around the country will be able to sit down to meals they might have missed otherwise.”
The annual food drive is part of the agency’s long-standing efforts to be a model corporate citizen. In the last four years, NCUA has collected 337,540 pounds of food through Feds Feed Families. Donations this year included fresh food, canned fruits and vegetables, soups and stews, juices, baking goods, whole-grain foods, and baby food. NCUA’s 2016 donation is the equivalent of 85,296 bunches of carrots, 169,280 medium russet potatoes, or 550,160 large eggs.
NCUA’s Region V office, in Tempe, Arizona, led the agency for the third time by contributing 23,770 pounds of food. The Region III office, in Atlanta, contributed 15,820 pounds. The largest contribution in the agency’s central office came from the Office of Public and Congressional Affairs, which collected 11,794 pounds of food.
Fifty-seven NCUA employees reached the Feds Feed Families Hall of Fame this year by making individual contributions of at least 250 pounds of food. Eighteen employees the platinum level (1,000 pounds or more), 23 reached the gold level (500 to 999 pounds) and 16 reached the silver level (250 to 499 pounds).
Donations from NCUA’s central office employees went to the Capital Area Food Bank. Through direct delivery and partnership with 444 community organizations in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, the organization serves more than 540,000 people annually. Food pantries around the country benefitted from donations from NCUA’s regional offices.
Federal workers have donated more than 57 million pounds of food and other non-perishable items to support families in need across America during the annual Feds Feed Families food drives, which began in 2009.