Nearly 2,000 pounds of food and more than $17,000 was collected during Colonial Life’s annual Cash and Cans food drive to benefit Harvest Hope Food Bank.
That’s enough to provide more than 88,750 meals to those in need.
The need is significant and affects people from all walks of life. The months of February and March were very low for canned goods, according to Harvest Hope CEO Denise Holland, and some tractor-trailer-loads of food needed to be purchased.
The drive will help the food bank have a source of food and funds to prepare to when schools are on Spring Break this month. Holland said Harvest Hope sees as much as a 40% increase in demand when school is out.
“Colonial Life is a wonderful supporter to help Harvest Hope fight the battle to stop hunger,” said Holland. “Their employee engagement helps us reach so many more people with hunger education and involvement. Employee participation must be heartfelt, meaningful, easy and fun. All of this is hugely done with Colonial Life’s Cash and Cans drive.
“I wish we had more employers who would give this opportunity to Harvest Hope.”
At Colonial Life, the fun and engagement spread across employees in several departments, which were assigned items from Harvest Hope’s list of most-needed foods. The claims department, for instance, split into three teams and competed with each other to see who could collect the most jars of peanut butter.
“This is such a great example of who we are as a company,” said Jessica Smoake, a community relations specialist with Colonial Life. “At the end of the competition, just one department was able to collect more than 400 jars of peanut butter. It’s great to see our employees get competitive – when it comes to helping those in need.”
You can get involved too. To learn more about Harvest Hope or to donate, visit their website.
