Toyota Provides over 1 Million Meals
The company’s staff volunteered over 4,500 hours and provided a grant, ultimately supporting over 1 million meals for neighbors facing hunger.
During just six months, 1,812 employees from Toyota spent 4,530 hours sorting and packing 748,776 pounds of food at North Texas Food Bank.
That support combined with a $150,000 grant given by Toyota means the company helped provide over 1 million meals to their neighbors facing hunger.
“What an incredible impact Toyota Financial Services has made on neighbors across North Texas facing food insecurity!” said Elizabeth Campo, manager of Volunteer Engagement at NTFB.
Ellen Farrell, Toyota Chief Respect for People Officer, said they initially got involved with NTFB after locating their Toyota North America headquarters in Plano, and it’s been a partnership they’re proud to be a part of ever since.
“We originally began working with NTFB through the Toyota Production System Support Center, which is dedicated to making processes more effective and efficient,” Ellen said. “Since NTFB operates on a large scale to serve multiple counties, we appreciated the opportunity to help streamline the volunteer processes to maximize NTFB’s ability to serve its clients.”
Over six months during this winter and spring, Toyota employees volunteered for multiple shifts at NTFB’s Perot Family Campus, sorting food and packing and boxing items for neighbors facing hunger. In NTFB’s service area, more than 744,000 people—or 1 in 6—don’t always know where their next meal will come from.
“We realize we don’t operate in isolation, and when our community neighbors are in need, it really affects all of us,” Ellen said. “We hope that by bringing our team members together to volunteer, we’re reinforcing our company culture while making a positive difference for the people around us.”
Ellen said that Toyota’s founding principles include “respect for people” and “continuous improvement,” both of which drive the company to be involved with nonprofits and the communities in which they operate. At NTFB, the mission to ensure everyone has access to the nutritious food they need to thrive also speaks to Toyota’s commitment to workforce development and STEM education.
“NTFB provides essential nutritional assistance that enables kids to stay on track academically, which ultimately leads to a healthy, thriving community for us all,” Ellen said.
Plus, she added, their employees always enjoy making a direct impact by packing food for their neighbors.
“NTFB takes exceptional care to ensure the volunteer sessions are well run, providing an upbeat, collaborative atmosphere,” she said.
NTFB is grateful to Toyota for its commitment to closing the hunger gap in North Texas. We could not do what we do in the fight against hunger without their critical support.
