Feds Feed Families

Commissary patrons, employees donate record 2.3M pounds

NEWS RELEASE

Defense Commissary Agency

Corporate Communications

1300 E Avenue, Fort Lee, VA 23801-1800

Tel:  (804) 734-8000, Ext. 8-6105  DSN: 687-8000, Ext. 8-6105 

FAX: (804) 734-8248  DSN: 687-8248

www.commissaries.com

Release Number:        67-20                                                                                                                        

Date:                              August 20, 2020

Media Contact:           Kevin L. Robinson, public affairs specialist

Tel.:                               (804) 734-8000, Ext. 4-8773

E-mail:                         kevin.robinson@deca.mil

Feds Feed Families

Commissary patrons, employees donate record 2.3M pounds

By Keith Desbois,

DeCA public affairs specialist

Note: To read this release online, go to the DeCA website.

FORT LEE, Va. – Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) patrons and employees once again led this year’s Department of Defense (DOD) contributions to the annual Feds Feed Families campaign by collecting nearly 2.3 million pounds of food and personal hygiene items.

The previous donations record for DeCA’s donations was 1.6 million pounds in 2015.

            Through Feds Feed Families, federal employees help food banks and pantries stay stocked during summer months when the need for donations is at its greatest. Although this year’s campaign officially ran from June 1 to July 31, DOD agencies could include all of their donations collected from Jan. 1 to Aug. 14. DeCA’s participation represented almost 90 percent of DOD’s total donation of more than 2.5 million pounds.

            “It was only through the generosity of our employees and customers,” said Randy Eller, DeCA’s director of logistics. “Every year they really step up and get the job done in terms of donations. This year’s campaign broke the DOD record, and we significantly contributed to that success.”

Last year, DeCA collected more than 753,000 pounds of donations, about 73 percent of the over 1 million pounds collected by DOD. This year, for the first time, the DOD delegated DeCA to be the Department’s lead for the campaign.

            Patrons and employees donated in a number of ways. In the commissary, prepackaged bags filled with DeCA’s Freedom’s Choice store brand items were available for purchase. After purchasing the bag, patrons simply dropped it in a donation box or left it with the cashier.

            “The commissaries sold a little over 27,000 bags and this is absolutely fantastic,” added Eller.

            Commissaries also accepted unopened, sealed donations brought from home, or patrons and employees could purchase individual items in the store. Once the donations were collected, the commissary and their installation worked together to get them to a local foodbank or pantry.

            The commissaries’ commitment doesn’t stop there.

Throughout the year, commissaries donate edible but unsellable products to local food banks and pantries around the country through DeCA’s food donation program. 

Since Feds Feed Families began in 2009, federal employees have collected over 92 million pounds of food. For more information on this campaign, go to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Feds Feed Families webpage.

-DeCA-