This Wednesday, our Employee Benefits team took some time out of our day to give back to the community by volunteering at Second Harvest Food Bank.  The simple gesture of volunteering a few hours of time enables the Food Bank to successfully help those in the community who have hit a bump in life.  The recipients are those who have lost their jobs, their homes, and their ability to provide for themselves and their families.

When we walked into San Jose’s Cypress Center, we learned that we would be sorting apples to feed local people in need. We received a brief tutorial of how to inspect apples and differentiate between good and bad. It was an eye-opening experience to see the discrepancy between what we considered to be a “bad” apple at the beginning of the day versus the end. We too easily throw fruit away that has a blemish that can easily be cut away leaving perfectly good produce; the experience was humbling.

Volunteer support is essential for Second Harvest to maintain efficient and cost effective services. 95 cents of every $1 donated to the Food Bank goes directly to programs providing food to over 243,000 people each month. The food we sorted will be distributed to hungry children, families and seniors in the neighborhoods where they live, learn, work and play.

The Food Bank is always in need of volunteer help, especially in the months of January - September, so we encourage anyone to help out if they can!  We had a great time and it was truly a rewarding experience, we plan to make it an annual tradition.

For more info or to volunteer, please visit the Second Harvest Food Bank website, http://www.shfb.org/howtohelp