GREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK - Deutsche Bank Championship
By Kate Rose

Hunger. That happens to other people in other places, right?
Wrong! The Greater Boston Food Bank feeds more than 320,000 people annually in eastern Massachusetts. They're poor to middle-class people who can't make ends meet. They're our friends, neighbors and colleagues.

Founded in 1981, the Food Bank employs nearly 60 people, and benefits from the services of 14,500 volunteers annually to acquire, inspect, sort, warehouse, and distribute enormous quantities of food and grocery products. During the Deutsche Bank Championship, PTWA members returned to the Greater Boston Food Bank and our members, dressed in our new pink team t-shirts, joined volunteers from State Street and Deutsche Bank to see who could sort the most food in the time allotted. The winning team averaged 162 meals per person, by sorting 6568 pounds of food (an average of 210 pounds per volunteer) which was an incredible result!

The Greater Boston Food Bank distributes more than 25 million pounds of food annually to a network of more than 600 member hunger-relief agencies, such as local food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless and residential shelters, youth programs, senior centers and day-care centers.

Food is acquired through food industry product donations, corporate and group food drives, individual food donations and financial contributions that enable the Food Bank to buy even more food. They also receive surplus food from retailers, restaurants, caterers, hotels, corporate cafeterias and universities through Second Helping, a perishable foods donation program. The Food Bank actually helps retailers solve a major business and environmental problem by accepting large quantities of good food that might have been overproduced, incorrectly labeled or packaged, or that is simply not selling well. The Food Bank is proud that 89 percent of all dollars secured goes to anti-hunger efforts. And it is estimated that for every dollar secured, the Food Bank distributes more than $4.00 worth of donated food.

This is the fourth straight year that PTWA members have enjoyed partnering with State Street and Deutsche Bank in working at the Food Bank, and this project is one of the highlights on our volunteer calendar. If you would like more information on this incredible organization, or are interested in making a donation, please visit www.gbfb.org.