When I was a kid, my family needed help and organizations like the Foodbank were there for us. Now it’s my turn to give back.
This past weekend, I participated in my second food fair with the St. Louis Area Foodbank. 
This time, I donated my time on behalf of the Friends of the Foodbank, a new group of professionals committed to volunteering and representing the Foodbank at community events.
The Foodbank partnered with one of their partner agencies, a church in Washington, Mo., to provide almost 20,000 pounds of food to more than 130 families in need.
The Foodbank has an amazing system in place to move people seamlessly through these events.
For example, when a family arrives at a food fair, they present their vouchers and are given a number based on the number of families represented in their car. This number tells the volunteers at each station how many items the vehicle receives, ensuring that everyone gets enough food.
We distributed a wide variety of food, from canned goods to frozen egg rolls. We provided sustainable, nutritional items, like carrots, watermelon and giant bags of potatoes.
QuikTrip (QT) also donated numerous items from their QT Kitchens. Once a day QT pulls all of their overstock to an O’Fallon, Mo., location and allows the Foodbank to pick up these items.
All these sandwiches and pre-wrapped snacks and meals provide highly nutritious, high-value items to struggling families.
Although these events are hard, physical work for volunteers, I love attending and serving. The Foodbank has been around long enough to know what works and what doesn’t, and they have these distribution fairs down pat.
When people come together with a common goal for a common cause, it is a truly awesome experience. For me, giving my time is one way that I can give back.
Interested in volunteering with the St. Louis Area Foodbank?
By Jason Robison
Solution Architect for Miken Technologies
Member of the St. Louis Area Foodbank Social Media Avengers and Friends of the Foodbank
