Employees from Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores earlier this month joined the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and the Regional Food Bank’s Moore Food Resource Center in the fight against hunger through its annual “Share the Love” event. Nearly 90 employees volunteered their time to ensure Oklahomans would have enough to eat this spring by packing and sorting donations at the Regional Food Bank. Volunteers also stocked the shelves of the Moore Food Resource Center and helped clients shop for food.
”We believe in giving back to the community,” said Jenny Love Meyer, VP of communications for Love’s. “Throughout the year, we encourage employees to get involved through various coordinated volunteer initiatives, but Share the Love is a day when the majority of the corporate office gets out and makes a difference together. The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma helps so many families throughout our state so it’s a great place to focus our efforts.”
The inaugural Share the Love event took place last year to commemorate Love’s 50th anniversary. More than 300 Love’s employees spent Valentine’s Day—a day reserved for love—volunteering at the Regional Food Bank. Love’s started the volunteer day as a way to say thank you to the community that is home to its corporate headquarters in Oklahoma City.
“We are grateful for the volunteer support provided by Love’s,” said Rodney Bivens, executive director of the Regional Food Bank. “Thanks to their employees, the equivalent of nearly 14,000 meals will be provided to our hungry Oklahoma neighbors this spring.”
One in six Oklahomans struggles with hunger. Most of the clients served by the Regional Food Bank are seniors, children and families. The Regional Food Bank is the largest private hunger-relief organization in the state of Oklahoma. Last fiscal year, the nonprofit distributed 47.8 million pounds of food and products through a network of more than 1,200 charitable feeding programs and schools in 53 central and western Oklahoma counties.
The Regional Food Bank’s Food Resource Center provides increased access to food for residents in Moore and south Oklahoma City. The center has extended hours and days of operation and features client-choice shopping, which is similar to a supermarket. Last month, more than 2,000 families visited the Food Resource Center for assistance with food.
“We see it here every day—more and more of our Oklahoma neighbors need help making sure their family has enough food on the table,” said Tyler Geohagan, director of the Moore Food Resource Center. “The more Oklahomans we serve, the more volunteers we need to help stock our shelves and help clients shop for nutritious food for their families. We are thankful for all of the Love’s volunteers who helped us last week.”
