It’s hard to imagine the challenges you all are dealing with in the face of this pandemic. To the restaurants that are temporarily closing, to the associates who are working overtime to keep the shelves stocked at the grocery stores, to the truck drivers who are traveling thousands of miles to make sure families have food on the table and to the CEOs who are used to competing against each other: Thank you. The food supply chain is challenging everyone daily, and your leadership, caring and hard work are not going unnoticed.
As the Food Donations Manager at Operation Food Search, I am seeing firsthand how the food industry acts as frontline heroes to make sure people are getting their most essential needs met. While restaurants are struggling to keep the lights on, they are scrambling to donate their inventory so food doesn’t get wasted. While grocery stores can hardly keep supplies on the shelves, they are looking at ways to support those in need, including their own associates. While food distributors and suppliers are facing their individual challenges, they are making sure to donate product to those who otherwise wouldn’t get food. While sporting facilities that were preparing for national championships and opening days struggle to adjust, they are donating food that otherwise would have been sold at games so more people can eat.
To the Food Industry, we will get through this together. We will continue to support each other during the lows and highs, we will reach out to one another and we will continue to make sure that the vulnerable communities are still being supported during these tough days. Nobody is in this pandemic alone, and no one should have to worry where their next meal is coming from. You all are proving what we can do when we work together.
—Jack Baran, Food Donations Manager
Operation Food Search