Environmental Factor, September 2010, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Feds Feed Families with a half ton of help from NIEHS

By Eddy Ball
September 2010

NIEHS Health Scientist Administrator Mike Humble, Ph.D., clowns around as he drops off food

Feds Feed Families volunteers show that being generous can also be a lot of fun. NIEHS Health Scientist Administrator Mike Humble, Ph.D., clowns around as he drops off food for the drive. Shown with him, left to right, are Robinson, Michelle Owens, Jirles, and Rachel Frawley. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

This summer, NIEHS joined a government-wide effort to alleviate severe shortages of non-perishable items at food banks across the nation. The goal of the 2010 Feds Feed Families(http://www.fedsfeedfamilies.gov/) initiative is to gather 1,200,000 pounds of food nationwide for families in need, with NIH striving to collect 13,000 pounds.

During August, donors and volunteers at NIEHS reached out to do their part to make the food drive a success, contributing a total of 1,051 pounds of non-perishables in an impressive display of generosity and concern for others.

Organized by the NIEHS Office of Management (OM), Research Triangle Park, N.C. Chapter of Blacks In Government (BIG)(http://www.bignet.org/regional/research_triangle/index.htm) , and American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2923(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/about/od/om/union/index.cfm), volunteers at NIEHS collected food during July and August for the Durham Rescue Mission and the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. AFGE Local 2923 donated approximately 400 pounds of the overall total for the food drive.

AFGE Local President Bill Jirles and BIG Past President Veronica Godfrey Robinson served as co-chairs on the food drive along with co-chair Monya Wells of the NIEHS OM.

As the NIEHS effort gained momentum, employees from across the Institute (see text box) made donations, helped with collections and delivery, and worked to publicize the food drive. The NIEHS effort ran from Aug. 2-18, with volunteers gathering donations from drop boxes and curbside collections on Aug. 4 and Aug. 18.

Heavy lifters in the NIEHS Feds Feed Families food drive

Along with a sincere "thank you" to the many generous NIEHS employees and contractors who contributed food to make the food drive such a success, co-chairs Wells, Jirles, and Robinson recognized the central core of food drive volunteers. These are the folks who helped with lining up carts, emptying collection boxes, delivering the food to Durham Rescue Mission and the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, and doing the behind-the-scenes work that got food from donor's pantries to the people who need it:

William Boyd, OM Administrative Services and Analysis Branch

Rachel Frawley, National Toxicology Program

Margaret George, Transmembrane Signaling Group

Myra Westmoreland, OM Administrative Management Branch

Elliott Gilmer, Conference Facilities Coordination, Raven Contractor

VeeVee Shropshire, OM Health and Safety Branch

Jackie Osgood, Program Specialist, Kelly Contractor

Michelle Owens, Division of Extramural Research and Training Office of the Director

Alyson Scoltock, Molecular Endocrinology Group

Cheryl Thompson, Office of Communications and Public Liaison

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