Volunteer Connection – October 2018

Mayerson Distribution Center
Located at 1250 Tennessee Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45229.
October is Power Pack production month at the Mayerson Distribution Center! During the school year, students receive food through their free and reduce breakfast and lunch programs and on weekends the Power Pack provides supplemental food until they can get back to school on Monday morning. October is especially busy as volunteers pack Power Packs to fulfill orders throughout the entire holiday season. Beginning November 1^st, we will switch over to the Holiday Box production. Many volunteers are needed to feed the children and prepare for the holidays too!

Regular Warehouse Shifts: Shifts are held Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Both individuals and groups are welcome at the Distribution Center. Volunteers must be at least 13 years of age to volunteer. Student 13-18 years old must have parental consent and students 13-15 years of age must be accompanied by an adult

Liberty Street Market
Located at 112 E. Liberty, Cincinnati, OH 45204.
The Liberty Street Market is the Freestore Foodbank’s very own choice pantry at the Customer Connection Center. On a daily basis the Customer Connection Center may serve up to 300 people and provide food and connections to other services which helps individuals and families.

Liberty Street Market Shifts: Individuals or groups of 10 or less can schedule a time to volunteer in the Liberty Street Market, Monday, Tuesday, Thursdays and Friday from 8am-4pm. Projects include food sorting, restocking shelves with groceries, assisting customers with their groceries outside of the building and loading groceries in their vehicle in front of the building. Volunteers must be at least 16-years-old (with parental consent) to volunteer at this site.

The Giving Fields
Located at 101 Anderson Lane, Melbourne, KY 41059The Liberty Street Market is the
A huge THANK YOU to all of the volunteers who made the Giving Fields possible this season! As summer finally gives way to fall, we are taking our final steps for closing out the 2018 growing season. With the help of over 2,000 volunteers, the Giving Fields was able to provide fresh, healthy, nutritious produce to our neighbors in Northern Kentucky. Volunteers rolled up their sleeves, put on their boots and got dirty with us as together, we served our neighbors!

A special thank you to a few special groups who funded and began new projects this September: Women of Messer, who built new seedling structures and raised beds for next year and the employees of Perfetti Van Melle for donating funds, purchased lawnmowers and built the structure to create an arboretum for our berry bramble!

We want to also give a super SHOUT OUT to our three volunteers who were with us week in and out: Dan Burns, Carl Bosse and Mike Rimer.

Thank you to all of our 2,000 plus volunteers who gave of their time to make this year happen. The farm will close on October 30^th and will reopen next spring.

SPECIAL EVENTS

October Events:

OTR Health Care Fair
Saturday, October 27^th
We will partner with Rothenberg Preparatory Academy and The Christ Hospital to host our 2nd Annual Community Health Fair. There will be health screenings for blood pressure, BMI, glucose for diabetes, health education on personal and dental hygiene, as well as foot and eye care. All ages are welcome to attend. Volunteers are needed to assist with the set up on Friday, October 26^th and the actual fair itself on Saturday. Volunteers will assist with event setup/breakdown (moving and setting up tables, chairs, signage, assembling grab bags, etc.) as well as managing assigned booths such as medical testing sign-ups, giveaway distribution stations, crowd directors, etc.

November Event:

Double Your Dollars Day
November 14^th
We will kick-off the holiday season with our Seventh Annual Double Your Dollar$ Day campaign. Thanks to our community partners, every dollar donated to the Freestore Foodbank that day will be matched allowing us to feed twice as many tristate children and families! Volunteers are needed to answer phones and complete the one page payment forms.

The Holidays Operations
November 19 & 20^th and December 19^th & 20^th
Over 2,000 volunteers are needed to assist with our holiday food distribution. Registration is open now for individuals. If you would like to register a group, contact us at volunteer@freestorefoodbank.org. Reserve your spots now. We will only be distributing 2 days for each of the holidays this year! Please note the change in dates and times. Groups and individuals are welcome. Volunteers must be at least 10 years old to volunteer (with parents).

Tackle Hunger at the 32nd Annual Bengals Canned Food Drive
Sunday, November 25^th
We are teaming up again with the Cincinnati Bengals for the 32nd Annual Bengals Canned Food Drive on Sunday, November 25th at Paul Brown Stadium. Last year, food and monetary donations received through this event helped us to provide more than 71,000 meals to hungry children and families in the community. Help us tackle hunger by collecting monetary and food donations before the game.

Healthy Harvest Mobile Market
At various locations throughout the community
Want to help bring healthy nutritious produce into the community? Volunteer on a regular basis with the Healthy Harvest Mobile Market! We are also in need volunteers once a month for the HHMM Clean Up Crew as well.

All volunteers are welcome to join our team as TOGETHER, WE CAN SOLVE HUNGER! Individuals may self-register and groups may request special dates by visiting our website: freestorefoodbank.volunteerhub.com. Email our Volunteer Engagement Specialist, Carolyn Frank at volunteer@freestorefoodbank.org or call 513-482-7550 for further assistance.

Thank you to the following groups for your support in September 2018!
We sincerely appreciate their continued support and contribution of their time.