Union team members volunteered at Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina in Charlotte, NC to learn about the organization and sort donations. Read more.

Service at Second Harvest Food Bank | Union

Union Starts the Holidays with Service at Second Harvest Food Bank

The Union team left the office early on Thursday to volunteer at <a href="https://www.secondharvestmetrolina.org/">Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina</a>, just a few miles down the road. Second Harvest has been on a mission to end hunger in the Carolinas since 1981, and our team wanted to do our part before a week of holiday happenings.During our orientation led by Community Development Coordinator Nancy Hagerman, we learned that Second Harvest gets about 100,000 volunteers annually, which saves the nonprofit about $7 million. From their warehouse just beyond Uptown Charlotte, Second Harvest ships food and supplies to their 770 nonprofit partners and charitable agencies, from soup kitchens, to emergency pantries, to homeless shelters. The organization services 14 counties in North Carolina and five counties in South Carolina, with five more counties getting added to their list in January.“Being able to give some of our time and know there’s a tangible result of improving the community we work and live in helps to feel more connected to the city,” says Alex Ferraro, Senior Paid Media Strategist at Union.

Seeing the inner workings of the nonprofit helped, too. As Hagerman pointed out, people often visit the Second Harvest warehouse and are surprised to see how much it looks like Costco. Think towering, industrial shelves loaded with pallets and heavy boxes of products. But the items come in and out at a rapid pace, moved by the truckload.Second Harvest team members are passionate about making sure that partner agencies never sell the food, or require someone to join the organization in order to receive the donations. They strive to ensure that anyone, regardless of circumstance or background, has access to the supplies they provide. To help make that possible, Union volunteers got to work inspecting and sorting food that had been salvaged from grocery stores, as well as nonfood items like pillows, medications and hygiene products. We also put together supply boxes for senior citizens.“It was great to know that our effort was going to reach those living in our communities needing assistance,” says Caroline Robinson, Digital Producer at Union. “The Second Harvest Food Bank takes pride in making sure that everything that comes out of their warehouse is the best quality and I’m very thankful that they let our team be a part of that mission.”

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