MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- Marine Corps Base Hawaii will be participating in the annual Feds Feed Families campaign, which runs from June to August.
From now through August, the staff at the Chaplain Joseph W. Estabrook Chapel will be leading the base collection of nonperishable goods to benefit various local organizations. Donors can drop off goods in bins located at the chapel sanctuary, the chapel office and the base commissary.
The Hawaii Food Bank is one of several organizations to benefit from the campaign. The most desired food donations are cans of meat, fruit, vegetables, soup and meals.
Since the establishment of the Feds Feed Families campaign in 2009, federal employees nationwide have collected 15.2 million pounds of food. On June 11, the campaign officially began with a ceremony in the National Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is heading the campaign this year, which officially ends Aug. 28.
“Federal employees are tremendously dedicated to their communities, so it’s no surprise to me that the Feds Feed Families food drive has been so successful over the past four years,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a USDA news release. “I’m confident that this year, employees here in Washington and in offices across the country will step up once again to help those in need.”
Locally, the Honolulu-Pacific Federal Executive Board is currently coordinating food collection among all the federal agencies statewide. There isn’t a set goal amount; rather the goal is simply to exceed the amount collected the previous year, according to Toni Allen, the deputy executive director of the Honolulu-Pacific Federal Executive Board.
“I always find that the federal workforce rises to the occasion,” Allen said. “Even with their own personal budget restrictions, the federal workforce consistently exceeds the amount of food donated the year before. They’re understanding of, now more than ever, what it means for the struggling economic environment in Hawaii. The federal employees are definitely the champions behind this national program.”
For more information about the campaign, visit
http://www.fedsfeedfamilies.usda.gov. For more information about the
base collection, call Chaplain Bob Crabb at 257-2734, or email
robert.crabb@usmc.mil.