When the Honda Auto Plant in East Liberty, Ohio, temporarily shut down for routine maintenance this January, its team got to work helping their hungry neighbors at Mid-Ohio Food Collective.
From January 6 to January 17, 78 Honda employees gave more than 2,100 hours of time at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank and the Mid-Ohio Markets at Gantz and Norton Road (two of MOFC’s no-cost fresh food markets).
The team filled nearly all MOFC volunteer shifts for those two weeks. It was MOFC’s first-ever multi-site, multi-week volunteer takeover effort, and the help came at a key time of year when volunteerism tends to drop off.
Honda employees did more than just help their hungry neighbors. Justin, a team lead in the welding shop, said volunteering brought new friendships. Honda employees who had never met before were introduced while volunteering at MOFC, he said.
“I’ve never volunteered before,” said Callan, a topcoat inspector who worked in the Mid-Ohio Foodbank’s sorting and packing center. “Some of us are trying to find time to volunteer here when we’re back at work. We’re sad this is ending.”
Honda employees brought the efficiency of an assembly line to all three locations. Over the two-week partnership, they helped sort and pack almost 197,000 pounds of food at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank—including more than 3,100 boxes of shelf-stable food for seniors. The Honda teams that worked at the markets helped serve more than 9,600 shoppers.
But these statistics are more than just numbers. They reflect the thousands of families whose fridges are now full of fresh, healthy food thanks to Honda employees.
“I hope that Honda and other companies keep sending their workers to help the community when they don’t need them at the factory,” said Sith, an assembly line worker who volunteered at the Mid-Ohio Market at Gantz Road. “Because at the end of the day, the heart of the company is the community.”
Interested in scheduling a shift for your workplace? Contact MOFC Director of Volunteer Services Elizabeth Garrabrant at egarrabrant@mofc.org or fill out a group volunteer request form. Or you can make a difference in the community with corporate and employee giving! Contact MOFC Director of Corporate Partnerships Craig Truax at ctruax@mofc.org to learn more.
