Hallmark employees surpass food drive goal for Harvesters

They built sculptures out of cans of tuna and green beans, dropped off cases of corn on their way to work and “canned” their bosses with peaches and peanut butter.

And in the end, Hallmark employees blew past their aggressive 50,000-pound goal, making 65,000 pounds of non-perishable foods available for Kansas City’s hungry families in the company’s annual food drive for Harvesters – The Community Food Network.

The grand total represents more than 15 pounds of food donated per employee in the company’s Kansas City headquarters and Crown Center subsidiary, exceeding the previous year’s contribution by 40 percent.  It also triggers a $6,500 cash donation from Hallmark, reflecting the company’s pledge to contribute 10 cents to Harvesters for every pound of food employees donated.

“Together, employee food donations and company match will make more than 80,000 meals available to people in need in our community,” according to Karen Haren, Harvesters’ President and CEO.

“Summer is such a critical time of the year for Harvesters.  Kids are out of school and not receiving free and reduced-price school meals, so families are even more dependent on area food pantries” Haren says.  “Employee efforts like the Hallmark food drive provide much-needed food to ensure that our neighbors are able to feed their children.”

“I think it’s safe to say this is an effort that Hallmarkers really enjoy getting behind and doing their part to make a difference,” adds Wendy Woolford, Hallmark retail leasing manager and coordinator of the food drive.  Friendly inter-departmental competition, creation of “CANstruction” sculptures and a drive-through drop off spurred employee enthusiasm.

The food drive is one of several Kansas City-area employee events coordinated by Hallmark’s volunteer office throughout the year.

Harvesters is Kansas City’s food bank. Covering a 13-county metropolitan area, Harvesters provides food and related household products to more than 550 not-for-profit agencies including emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, children’s homes, homes for the mentally disabled and shelters for battered persons. Founded in 1979, Harvesters is a certified member of America’s Second harvest, a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks serving all 50 states. For more information visit www.harvesters.org.