Jeep workers donate two tons of food and cash to local food bank

An enormous donation came into the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank today.Workers at the Toledo Assembly Complex gave their time and thousands of dollars to help make the holidays a little brighter for those in need.

The food bank helps feed hundreds of thousands of people in more than half dozen counties throughout our region. Wednesday, truckloads full of help arrived from local Jeep workers.Wesley Thomas is a facilitator for UAW Local 12, "We're very active in this community. Always have been, always will be. Giving back is important to us."

The latest effort to give back started this morning at the Kroger on the corner of Detroit and Glendale.Jeep workers raised more than $4,500 to buy food. Mark Epley is the UAW Local 12 Jeep Unit Chair,"We are the best workforce, the best of Chrysler. Our men and women go way beyond the call of duty. Anything Chrysler asks us to do, we do it for them. It's a great place to work, it's truly a family."

This kind of effort is nothing new.Thomas has been a part of the work at the food bank for more than a decade,"It makes me feel good to see our members donating food and money. I have been part of this effort since 2003. It always gives you a warm and rewarding feeling to help families in need throughout northwest Ohio."

So just what will $4,500 dollars will get you? Epley says the answer is thousands of pounds of food, "Today we brought in two tons of food. Earlier this fall we brought in another ton. We also donated some cash. So in total we've given three tons of food and $1,000 in cash in recent months. We also have other charitable projects at the plant. For example, we will be helping 16 families this holiday season with an angel tree. We will be buying gifts for members of all the families."

With the food bank's purchasing power, President and CEO James Caldwell says the $1,000 in cash from the Jeep workers will buy five thousand dollars of food, "We serve 8 counties here in northwest Ohio. We cover 4,000 square miles. We couldn't do it without our partnerships like the one we have with Jeep."

Caldwell says the food bank helps feed about a half million people every year, distributing more than ten million pounds of food, "Ten million pounds is a tremendous amount of food and we are averaging a 5-8% growth rate over the last 5-7 years in terms of dealing with hunger."

The best part is that it doesn't matter if you donate two items or two tons of food,"It all makes a difference. Today they helped make a big difference here! A huge difference today. I am proud of our long-term relationship with Jeep and the union members here in northwest Ohio."