VOLUNTEERS GIVE BIG BOOST TO FOOD BANK OF NORTH ALABAMA

It was a cool and wet Friday morning in early April at Milton Frank Stadium, but volunteers from Raytheon Technologies were smiling and happy as they worked in the parking lot taking names and information and handing out groceries to families dealing with food insecurity.

As people drove through, they were handed a box of food, a bag of fresh grapes and frozen chicken. This mobile pantry was sponsored by Raytheon Technologies as part of their Global Month of Service.

“We all were so glad to be there, it was a really great event and to be able to be there and give back for me personally was super rewarding,” said Natalie Lapacek-Trout, the Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Raytheon Technologies. “We of course serve year round, but our Global Month of Service is when we really like to celebrate it. Also we just really wanted to amp up our partnership with the Food Bank of North Alabama. We have partnerships with Feeding America food banks around the nation, so it was time for our Alabama offices to step up and start helping our local food bank.”

Lapacek-Trout said she was especially happy to see how resilient everyone who received food was.

“It was amazing to see, they have to be going through some tough circumstances to be going to the Food Bank, but there were smiles on their faces and that was super encouraging to see we could bring those smiles to their faces,” she said. “It was also great to see the amount of food we were able to give out to help people and to see our volunteers really engaging.”

The Food Bank of North Alabama has recently worked with volunteers from groups such as Publix, Meta, Whole Foods, Redstone Federal Credit Union in addition to regular individual volunteers and church groups.

Christi Garris, the Food Bank of North Alabama’s volunteer coordinator, said that having groups such as Raytheon Technologies volunteering not only helps the food bank get more done, but it also gives the Food Bank an opportunity to help educate people about the need in North Alabama.

“They come in and find out stats behind food insecurity— we educate them on what people have to do to make their dollar stretch,” Garris said. “A lot of times when people come in to volunteer they don’t know exactly what it’s like. They learn about that and our impact outside of Huntsville”

Garris said volunteers also are often surprised to learn that the Food Bank is the main source of food for over 210 nonprofit organizations across 11 counties in North Alabama.

Volunteers save the Food Bank time, money and resources, in addition to freeing up staff to work on other projects. And volunteerism, Garris said, is one of the reasons the Food Bank has been able to grow its senior meal box program.

“I know for me personally, being in the warehouse working side by side with community members it’s a very fulfilling part of my role,” Garris said. “I can walk away from a volunteer shift and say ‘this is some of the most fun I’ve had.’ ”

If you’re interested in volunteering with the Food Bank, either as an individual, family or with a church or corporate group, email Christ Garris at cgarris@fbofna.org or sign up at www.foodbanknorthal.org/get-involved/volunteer.