11,000 food packages for the needy in 2 hours

A successful volunteer event during the market conference in Houston, Texas

The social commitment of the colleagues from help alliance Americas was a common thread running through this year’s market conference in Houston, Texas. In addition to an auction for a good cause, a visit to the Houston Food Bank was the special highlight. To gain an insight into the various activities of help alliance Americas, the patroness of help alliance, Vivian Spohr, also traveled to the United States.

Since there is no social welfare system in the United States comparable to that in Germany, food banks play an essential role in providing food for disadvantaged population groups. The Houston Food Bank is the largest institution of its kind in the U.S. and distributed 159 million meals to people in need in 2020 alone. To distribute such quantities of donated food in a targeted and coordinated manner requires not only impressive logistics, but above all many volunteers. Lufthansa colleagues from the Houston station have been supporting the Food Bank with volunteer work for some time.

After receiving a briefing last Wednesday, the Lufthansa Group volunteers were responsible for packing food packages for senior citizens. While the volunteers began putting shelf-stable foods, such as canned goods and rice, into boxes on the assembly line, patron Vivian Spohr received a tour of the Food Bank’s 28,000 square meter complex from Chief Development Officer Amy Ragan. Here, one quickly became aware of the important role the Food Bank plays in providing basic food services far beyond Texas state lines.

Ms. Spohr was visibly impressed with the amount of students of various ages who were sorting donated food at the Food Bank as part of a school field trip and delivering it to its designated storage location. After the tour, Ms. Spohr assisted colleagues in packing the boxes, and after two hours, 11,000 food packages were assembled for the elderly.

Volunteering not only does good, but also acts as a team-building event. They bring people together and provide a wonderful opportunity to learn about help alliance’s global commitment. We look forward to more and thank our colleagues from help alliance Americas for organizing this special event.