Tag Archives: food charity

Program Updates

Letter Carriers food drive a big help

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LCFD15Around the region, the annual Letter Carriers food drive on May 10 netted over 50,000 pounds of donated food that will be distributed to West Virginia food pantries.

At the main post office in Charleston dozens of United Food Operation, Inc. (UFO) volunteers turned out to unload food from postal trucks and move it to the waiting UFO tractor trailer. A rainy day did not dampen the spirits of the volunteers nor of the members of the National Association Letter Carriers (NALC) Local 531, as approximately 21,000 pounds of food donated by postal patrons was received and reloaded at this site.

LCFD 14

It takes a lot of volunteers to pull off a day like this and Charleston area organizations were very generous. Those offering volunteers included the Communication Workers of America,  Local 2001; American Federation of Teachers, Putnam County Local 4639; Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, Charleston Chapter; National Association of Letter Carriers, Local 531; Charleston Professional Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 317;  Heart and Hand of South Charleston; International Association of Machinists, Local 656; International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 175; International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 132; United Food Operation, Inc.; WV AFL-CIO; and the WV Governor’s Office.

Governor proclaims Letter Carrier Food Drive Day in WV
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin proclaimed May 10, 2014 as Letter Carriers Food Drive day. in the photo, Governor’s Office representative Jason Williams presents a copy of the proclamation to Tim McKay, official of Letter Carriers Local 531.

With the day having been proclaimed by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin as Letter Carriers Food Drive Day,  the large haul of donated food will be spread among pantries around south central and western West Virginia. The 21,000 pounds of  food given to United Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014Food Operation will be shared with the 13 pantries it supports in Kanawha and Putnam counties. This food will be an immediate help to those in need in the Kanawha Valley.

** Click on the photos to view enlargements of our volunteers **

Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014
Buffalo Soldiers MC, Charleston WV Chapter
Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014
This great group came from AFT Putnam County.
Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014
The West Virginia Army National Guard picked up food from out lying postal centers and brought it to the downtown office.
Professional Fire Fighters from Charleston, WV.
Professional Fire Fighters from Charleston, WV. Charleston Fire Fighters are regular volunteers with UFO on Friday morning’s each winter.
Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014
(L to R) David Mullins of IUOE Local 132,, his wife Ekta, and Todd Mullins, president of the Kanawha Valley Labor Council.
Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014
Don Fraley of Teamsters Local 175 drove the tractor and trailer and made two trips back and forth between the post office and the UFO warehouse.
Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014
Members of Communication Workers of America can always be counted on.
This crew of United Food Operation regular volunteers stayed all day.
This crew of United Food Operation regular volunteers stayed all day.
Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014
NALC members and volunteers.
Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014
NALC members and volunteers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Details of the day

IMG_2952Postal delivery trucks arrive at the post office at the end of their day bringing back the donated food they have collected from postal patrons.

 

 

Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014The donated food is loaded into large dump bins by United Food Operation volunteers.

 

 

Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014Once these dump bins are filled they are moved over to the weighing area.

 

 

Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014

Each bin is placed on the scale and weighed.

 

 

Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014Full bins typically weigh in the area of 800-900 pounds.

 

 

 

Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014Bins are then loaded into the UFO trailer and hauled to the UFO warehouse in Institute.

 

 

Letter Carriers Food Drive 2014This tractor and trailer was provided, at no cost to United Food Operation, by Yellow Freight. This is the kind of contribution that allows UFO to put all the funds it raises toward buying food.  We thank Yellow Freight and all the others who made this successful day possible.

UFO will now distribute all the food donated from the Letter Carriers drive to its participating local food pantries . With the completion of this project, 2014 UFO distributions season will come to a close. Over the summer and fall months UFO will raise the funds needed to kick off its Winter 2015 program, which begins in January.

 

News Report

WQBE Radio honored

WQBE honored
Charleston radio station WQBE was honored Saturday by the United Food Operation for its support of food charity programs. Pictured from left to right are Al Woody and Jeff Jeffries, both of WQBE; Joseph Davenport and Elaine Harris, both of U.F.O.; and Rick Webb of WQBE.

For its contribution to fighting hunger in the Kanawha Valley,  Charleston radio station WQBE-FM was honored by United Food Operation on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014.

Elaine Harris, chair of U.F.O.,  presented a plaque to WQBE radio personalities Jeff Jeffries and Al Woody for their long term commitment to and support of the United Food Operation that puts food on the shelves of 13 food pantries in Kanawha and Putnam counties.

WQBE honorary plaque
This plaque was presented to WQBE by the United Food Operation on February 22, 2014.

Harris thanked Jeffries and Woody for all they do, and it is a lot. Jeffries and Woody routinely encourage public support for food charities in their regular broadcasts and, for the past three years, have provided a live remote broadcast for United Food Operation events. Their efforts have assisted U.F.O. in raising thousands of dollars used to purchase food that is then provided free-of-charge to 13 food pantries in Kanawha and Putnam counties of West Virginia.

WQBE is a community-spirited station owned and operated by Bristol Broadcasting Company, Inc. It broadcasts its country music format at 97.5 on the FM dial.

Program Updates

United Food Operation readies for 2014 food distribution season

Winter weather has hit the Kanawha Valley with a vengeance, which means it surely must be time again for United Food Operation (UFO) to get down to business. Accordingly, the Charleston-based all-volunteer organization will kick off its 32nd annual food distribution program on January 24 and run it through April 12 this year.

Elaine Harris, who has served as the program chair since its inception in 1981, said UFO will work out of the same distribution center at the Bayer Crop Science facility in Institute that it has been using for several years.

Harris, in a Charleston Daily Mail interview, said times are especially tough this year.

“Donations are down,” she said. “Cupboards are bare. We need sponsors to help bring in food. It’s tax-deductible.”

Numerous area employers support the program but more are needed, Harris said. She explained that, unlike many other food banks, UFO does not charge the pantries for the food it provides them.

“They have enough issues finding the resources to keep operating,” she said. “We just want to help them get over the winter hump.”

Pantry leaders say they are hard pressed in the cold weather season to keep up with the increased demand for their services. Demand is higher in winter months for a number of reasons but the primary one is higher utility bills for heating leave less in the famlly budget for food.

At the Institute distribution center,  UFO volunteers will collect, receive, and sort food on Fridays and distribute it to pantries on Saturday mornings during the 10-week period. Thirteen food pantries in Putnam and Kanawha counties participate in the UFO program.

Participating food pantries for 2014 are:
Christian Community Cupboard in Hurricane; EnAct, Inc. in Chesapeake, Montgomery, and Clendenin; Covenant House of Charleston; Heart and Hand Community Service Center in South Charleston; Nitro Community Services; Pocatalico/Sissonville Community Food Pantry; St. Albans Community Food Pantry; Mountain Mission in Charleston; Salvation Army in Charleston; and Five Loaves/Two Fishes in Poca.

A teleconference call with UFO officers and volunteer leaders will be held Wednesday, January 15, 2014 8:00 AM to discuss plans for the UFO kick off and subsequent pantry distributions for this year.

For more information about how you might help or get involved as a volunteer, call Elaine Harris at 304-342-2023.

News Report, Program Updates

Dupont and Dow commit support

The E.I. Dupont plant at Belle and the Dow facility at Institute Industrial Park have both committed support to United Food Operation’s (UFO) 2013 winter food distribution program.

E.I. Dupont Belle Works donates to United Food Operation
E.I. Dupont’s Pamela Valentine (2nd from right) presents a contribution to UFO chair Elaine Harris (center) to help the 2013 program.

Dupont employee Pamela Valentine, who also serves as secretary for United Food Operation, presented a check for $1,250 to the group at the 2013 campaign organization meeting on Nov. 29, 2012. Employees at the Dupont plant have been long-term supporters of the UFO effort.

Dow’s Institute facility will supply the truck and driver needed to pick up bulk pallets of food and deliver them to the distribution center each Thursday. This will be done weekly for the duration of the 2013 food distribution program.

The bulk pallets are broken down on Fridays by UFO volunteers and reorganized into pallets for each of the 13 participating food pantries. The pantries then pick up the food on Saturday  mornings.

UFO Chair Elaine Harris said the organization couldn’t be nearly as effective without the continuing support of workers and management at local facilities like Dupont and Dow.

“We thank them for all they do,” she said.

News Report

More people seeking help, charities report

(The following item appeared in the Charleston Gazette in Oct. 2011.)

West Virginia charity groups are reporting an increase in the number of people seeking assistance.

In the first nine months of this year there was a 6 percent increase in the number of West Virginians who called th statewide 211 hot line.

Local news sources report that the callers are seeking help with food, shelter and utilities. The hot line fields 1,500 to 2,000 calls a month.

If the upward trend continues, about 11,000 more people will have sought help with basic needs in 2011 than 2010.

The United Way of Central West Virginia reports that it has undergone a 146 percent increase in the number of calls it has received in the first nine months of the year.

More people seeking food pantry help
More people are expected to seek help from our food pantries this winter.
Program Updates

UFO prepares for 30th winter food distribution

United Food Operation is preparing for its 30th annual winter food distribution program, which will run from January 13 to March 31, 2012.

During this 10-week period United Food Operation will make weekly food distributions to 13 area food pantries in support of their missions to assist needy local families and individuals. The pantries are located across Kanawha and Putnam counties of West Virginia.

Support for United Food Operation comes primarily from voluntary contributions by employees at Charleston, WV-area plants, public utilities, and government facilities. It was originally organized by and continues to receive strong support from local union members in the region.

The group’s board of trustees met with representatives of the participating food pantries on November 17. They announced that the warehouse distribution center would again be supplied free of charge by Bayer Crop Science at the Institute Industrial Park in Institute, WV. Distribution will take place each Saturday morning during the program period.