WASHINGTON – On August 31st the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) wrapped up a record breaking Feds Feed Families campaign. Employees collected and donated a total of 26,690 pounds of food to local food banks near their offices in Louisiana, Texas, Washington, DC, Alaska, and California. This year’s total donations from BSEE and its sister agency the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) were nearly five times more than those of 2016.
“These numbers speak volumes,” said Barbara Ann Jeffcoat, BSEE’s Feds Feed Families coordinator. “The selflessness of our employees to give so much is inspiring. I appreciate each and every person who donated food, funds, or their time to this important cause.”
In August, employees from BSEE and BOEM traveled to First Fruits Farm in Freeland, Maryland to pick excess corn from the fields, ultimately harvesting over 16,000 pounds. It was donated to various food pantries including Our Daily Bread, the Baltimore Rescue Mission, Capital Area Food Bank, MD Food Bank, and York Food Bank. The employees’ trip to the farm was part of a donation-increasing effort known as “gleaning,” in which volunteers pick, sort and pack excess produce from farms to help people in need.
Feds Feed Families is an annual national campaign to help food banks and pantries cope with the lean summer months when they often experience a decrease in donations and volunteers, but an increase in need. Each June, July and August, Feds Feed Families organizers ask federal employees from every department and agency to place their donations of non-perishable food items, water, and toiletries in the designated collection boxes. This year, other fundraiser-style opportunities to make contributions included a golf tournament, a chili cook-off and several organized gleaning trips.
