Did you know there are over two hundred food banks that take part of the Feeding America program? In past years they have worked together to feed over 53 million people across the United States! That is close to 16% of the US population. With that mass of impact, every day these food banks are looking for volunteers to help package and sort the food to give to those in need.
GreenStone’s Little Chute branch staff filled part of that need and donated their time to help box up food for households in the local Tribal community at the Feeding America food bank. Ross Eisenreich, Assistant Vice President of Regional Credit in the branch, was happy to help out! “It was my first-time volunteering there and it was pretty exciting and fulfilling! Definitely a cool opportunity and something that I would like to do again!”
During the teams shift they were able to box up 500 boxes of food! One of these boxes feeds about one household; that’s 500 households they were able to help out in just a little bit of time.
Each box was stuffed with food that was unique to the tribe’s history like corn, beans, and squash. The food was also fresh and locally grown.
“They do it a little differently, because it is not like they get a pallet in from a farm 500 miles away and sort it out. The food was actually grown four miles away. Just to hear them talk about the different farmers that they worked with and knowing that they understand what their needs are made it pretty interesting to help out,” he shared.
Eisenreich not only found the locally grown food interesting, but it hit close to home when he realized what tribal community they helped out. “Where I grew up was just a stone throw from one of the reservations, Oneida Nation. I had a lot of Native American friends that I hung out with. This was a cool opportunity knowing that some of that food was going to their families.”
The team was able to do more than package boxes for the Tribal community, they were able to come closer as a team. “Whether it is volunteering or just getting together to help each other out, our branch teams tries to stick together and keep that family mentality,” Eisenreich says. “For me it was the total package, an opportunity I haven’t had previously to volunteer and being able to do that with our team, it was just kind of a full circle.”
During this giving season GreenStone is proud to have employees like the Little Chute branch who help give back in their communities! We encourage you to give back to your community and find a local food shelter near you. Learn more about our community outreach and engagement efforts here.
