Spring 2022
Focus on Food Month Supports Food Banks with Heightened Summer Demand Ahead
For kids who count on the school cafeteria for regular meals, summertime can bring heightened hunger and anxiety into their lives. Instead of having fun in the sun and taking an enjoyable break from the school year, many families struggle with tough trade-offs between food and other necessities in the challenging summer months. Community food banks provide a lifeline for food-insecure families with nowhere else to turn.

With summer just around the corner, GSF Foundation Committees engage in the “Focus on Food” initiative during the month of May to support local food banks in their efforts to alleviate hunger. To help children and families struggling with food insecurity, local Foundation committees have the opportunity to make a grant to eligible 501(c)(3) food banks through an expedited process with matching national GSF Foundation donations up to $5,000 per local food bank grant.

“This month, our local GSFF committees around the U.S. have the opportunity to come together and make a focused impact on food insecurity in the communities where our associates live and work. From grant-making matches to volunteering with food backs, associates will team up to help end hunger as part of our Foundation’s core programming.”

– Vanessa Hugon, Programs & Development Manager GSF Foundation

A leading supplier to the foodservice industry for 75 years, GSF today feeds one billion people worldwide every day. Associates across GSF’s food manufacturing and distribution businesses have a deep connection to fighting hunger. Since 2002 when the GSF Foundation formed 20 years ago, associates have donated millions of meals to vulnerable community members and volunteered their time shelving donations in food pantries, gleaning produce from fields, and distributing groceries to neighbors in need.
GSFF Volunteers Donate Nearly 500 Service Hours So Far in 2022
Congratulations to the Foundation teams from QCD Frisco, Texas (136 hours), GSF Irvine, California (105 hours) and KanPak Penn Yan, New York (48 hours) for leading all local Foundation Committees in volunteer hours during the first quarter of 2022! Overall, associates volunteered nearly 500 service hours across the Foundation's 28 U.S. Committees in the first quarter.

Additionally, congratulations to the following associates who have already volunteered 20 hours or more in 2022 to achieve GSFF's 20th Anniversary volunteer hours challenge:

  • Daire Vadney, QCD Boston
  • Jennifer Nguyen, GSF Irvine
  • Jessica Lawrence, KanPak New York
  • Melissa Richardson, GSF Opelika
  • Monica Bowlin, KanPak Kansas
  • Pete Van Saun, QCD Charlotte
  • Raymond Torress, GSF City of Industry Manufacturing
  • Reymie Van Surksum, GSF Irvine
  • Robin Healy, KanPak New York
  • Wade Feaster, QCD Charlotte

In celebration of GSFF's 20-year milestone this year, GSF Foundation challenges associates to heighten their volunteer service. Associates have the opportunity to win a limited edition Carhartt sweatshirt by volunteering 20 hours or more in 2022 and logging their hours using the form on the GSF Foundation page of the GSF associate Intranet site.
GSFF Volunteers Put Empathy Into Action
From April 17-23, National Volunteer Week honored the individuals who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in their communities. Across the GSF Foundation’s (GSFF) 28 local committees, volunteers tirelessly give their time, talents, and treasures to improve the quality of life of children and families in the communities where GSF associates live and work.

“This year’s National Volunteer Week theme, ‘Volunteering Is Empathy In Action,’ describes the genuine care and earnest efforts that we see GSF associates put into practice when they get involved in GSF Foundation activities. The heart of the GSF Foundation is the inspiring local connections and generous support that our volunteers make possible with their actions and concern for helping their own neighbors in need.”

– Tess McAnena, Executive Director, GSF Foundation

Funded and run by associates, GSFF makes a difference in communities throughout the U.S. through its core programs, grant donations, and volunteer activities that local committees plan and carry out in partnership with nonprofits that associates select. Since the Foundation’s inception in 2002, volunteers have donated nearly 300,000 hours of service!
Sharing Your Stories
In March, associates at the QCD Chicago East distribution center in Franklin Park, Illinois initiated their GSF Foundation activities to help improve the lives of local children and families in need. For their first event, associates donated, sorted, and distributed 684 items to Pilsen Food Pantry in downtown Chicago.
“The Pilsen Food Pantry was chosen due to its location, where many of our associates live and/or grew up. This was a key factor as we rolled out our GSF Foundation plan at the center. This will be the starting point for the Chicago East Foundation team to grow with our associates and the communities we live in.”

– Roger Prahl, General Manager, QCD Chicago East
Quiz for A Kids' Cause
Enter for a Chance to Win a $250 Donation
Congratulations to Tanya Torres of QCD Dallas!
Tanya Torres, Senior Operations Clerk for QCD Dallas, has won the winter Heartline Quiz for a Kids' Cause and will receive a $250 donation to the GSFF Dallas Committee, supporting children and families in the local community.

Don't miss your next quick and simple opportunity to win a $250 donation to your children's charity of choice. The GSF Foundation invites Heartline readers to take a quiz about this newsletter edition by June 30, 2022:
About GSFF's Quiz for A Kids' Cause
  • All correct quiz responses received by June 30, 2022 will be entered into this quarter's random drawing for one $250 donation to the winner's eligible children's charity of choice.
  • Eligible charities include GSFF Local Committees and non-profit 501(c)3 organizations that align with the GSF Foundation's mission of improving the lives of children and families in need in the places where GSF associates live and work.