For Thanksgiving, more than 1,340 families in need in the Memphis, Tenn., area will receive food for their holiday meal thanks to the Feed the Needy Program. This is the 18th year Cargill is leading the initiative, which brings together local companies, government agencies and nonprofit organizations to create and deliver food baskets for families in need.
More than 250 volunteers will spend four days packaging and distributing baskets throughout the greater Memphis area.
"On average, there are four people in each family we reach out to," said Ruth Banks, leader of the Feed the Needy Program and marine tower operator at Cargill's Corn Milling facility in Memphis. "Given that average, this year we will feed 5,360 people this Thanksgiving holiday. This initiative is an opportunity for us to come together as a community and make a real difference for those most in need this season."
Forty companies and organizations are participating in the Food Basket Initiative this year. Most of the companies have all participated in this effort for the past 14 years.
The 2013 Feed the Needy Program will run on November 21 with the delivery of non-perishable food items to the Memphis Depot Industrial Park, where volunteers will begin packaging the meals. It will continue through November 26, when the food baskets will be delivered in time for the preparation of Thanksgiving dinner.
Memphis Depot Associates, LLC/Mayfield Properties, LP/Colliers International Memphis Region/Colliers Management Services-Memphis, LLC are large contributors for the 2013 project, donating the warehouse space being used to pack the boxes at virtually no cost to the Feed the Needy Program.
