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ST. LOUIS (March, 11, 2004) – Last
August, Jenne Ahlgrim, a data analyst at Monsanto headquarters in Creve Coeur, was looking
for a volunteer opportunity. So, she logged onto a local TV station web site to
check out their volunteer section. “I was originally looking for something I
could do on weekends, but then I saw that the St. Louis Area Foodbank needed help and
realized one of their warehouses is only a couple of miles from my work. I also saw
that they had opportunities for groups of people, so I thought maybe lunchtime would be a
good time for me and some of my co-workers to volunteer.”
These Monsanto employees spend lunch hours
helping the Foodbank provide food boxes for local seniors in need.
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Jenne started asking everyone she knew in her
work area, and soon, 8 to 10 people were carpooling once a month to spend their lunch hour
working at the Foodbank to fill monthly food boxes for seniors through its Commodity
Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). In partnership with the United States Department
of Agriculture, CSFP enables the Foodbank to hand-deliver food supplies each month to
4,500 senior citizens in need throughout St. Louis City and St. Louis County.
“Brett Moeller (who serves as
repackaging/volunteer center coordinator for the Foodbank) always has everything ready for
us when we arrive so we can jump right in and get to work. We feel like our time is
really valued, it’s exhilarating,” say Denise Lundry and Bonnie Ayden, both
research chemists at Monsanto and group volunteers.
Now, the group visits twice a month and since
August, have logged more than 150 volunteer hours. In an average hour, the group is
able to pack more than 250 boxes – preparing over 10% of the total CSFP supply needed
each month. “I really look forward to going and when I walk out of there after
just an hour, I’m pumped for the rest of the day, and so are the other
volunteers,” added Joyce Rossi, an administrative assistant. “On the way
back to work, everyone is bubbling. It’s so easy. A lunch hour a couple
times a month is nothing to us, but it means so much to the Foodbank.”
As these Monsanto volunteers have shown, even
an hour at a time adds up to a lot. To learn more about the St. Louis Area Foodbank,
please visit their website at www.stlfoodbank.org or call (314) 423-6100.
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| The St. Louis Area
Foodbank is a non-profit food distribution center for organizations that feed hungry
people in Eastern Missouri and Southwestern Illinois. In 2004, the Foodbank
distributed 12.8 million pounds of much-needed food to more than 450 local food pantries,
soup kitchens, and shelters. For more, call (314) 423-6100 or visit
www.stlfoodbank.org. |
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