RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Civilian and military personnel at the American Forces Network Broadcast Center contributed nearly double their goal toward the 4th Annual “Feds Feed Families” food drive, donating more than 380 pounds of food to a local food bank.
‘Feds Feed Families,’ is a U.S. government-wide effort led by the Chief Human capital Officers Council, in partnership with the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Defense and the Department of Agriculture.
The recipient of the donations from AFN-BC was a local food bank, “Second Harvest Food Bank,” which serves an estimated 300,000 people per month throughout the San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, according to Veronica Galvan, director, Donor Relations at Second Harvest.
“The Feds Feed Families food drive was a great cause to contribute to and our staff came through in a big way,” said Larry Sichter, public affairs officer, AFN-BC. “We’re proud, as Federal employees, to support our neighbors in Riverside and San Bernardino.”
The AFN-BC employs 218 DOD personnel, including Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as civilian employees and contractors.
The DOD goal was to contribute an average of one pound of food per person during the course of the three-month campaign. The broadcast center held their food drive only during the month of August. Despite the limited duration of the campaign, nearly double the goal was achieved.
“I think it was so successful because of all the people that work here at AFN-BC,” said U.S. Navy Petty Officer Ashley Gayton, one of the organizers of the AFN-BC food drive. “Next time we can improve by doing it longer than one month.”
The DOD was the largest contributor in this year’s campaign, collecting more than 844,000 pounds nationwide in the first two months of the three-month campaign. The next closest government agency was the Department of Homeland Security with 245,000 pounds of donations in the same period. Overall, more than 2 million pounds of food was donated across the country.
