In November and December, Sanford Underground Research Facility (Sanford Lab) hosted a holiday food drive for Feeding South Dakota. By the end of the campaign, employees and partners donated 262 pounds of food — equivalent to 230 meals.
"I never cease to be amazed by the personnel working at the Sanford Lab," said Larry Jaudon, director of Environment, Safety and Health. "As we were entering the holiday season, staff heard about the need for food donations for those in need in our local communities.They began taking up food donations to help families through the Thanksgiving Holiday, an effort which received universal support from our staff. Our personnel made a decision to keep up the food donation effort through the Christmas holiday and, as always, our people freely gave of their time and resources. It is this spirit of cooperation, community and caring that make the Sanford Lab such a wonderful place to work."
On Tuesday, Dec. 17, the food was delivered to Feeding South Dakota in Rapid City, which combats hunger both statewide and locally, supporting organizations including the Lord’s Cupboard in Lead, SD.
The campaign was the latest initiative from the Sanford Lab Working Wellness Group. The interdepartmental group’s mission is to plan, promote and support Health and Wellness activities for the Sanford Lab community.
"There were many reasons we decided to host a food drive," said Pam Hamilton, member of the Working Wellness Group. "We could help spread the word of the increasing issue of hunger and engage other community members to help in this effort, but we were also able to help our neighbors in need. Thank you to those who are helping to already make a difference in ending hunger."
Previous initiatives include blood drives and fundraisers for the Foundation for Health’s breast cancer patient support program. The group hopes these initiatives will impact employees and partners, their families and the community of Lead.
About Feeding South Dakota
In FY18, Feeding South Dakota as a whole distributed 12.2 million pounds of food in the fight against hunger. Our partnership with Feeding America provides us with access to millions of pounds of food product that is donated by corporations all across America. It is through this affiliation that we are able to provide a wider variety of store shelf quality food to our organizations.
Every single week, Feeding South Dakota assists in providing temporary food assistance to approximately 21,000 hungry individuals and families in our state and our BackPack Program gives food every weekend to over 5,500 kids who otherwise might go hungry.
Your donations of money, food, and time allow Feeding South Dakota to positively impact thousands of people every year. Real people. Real men, real women and real children who need your help and whose lives are changed when they receive it.
Check out their website for details on volunteer and donation opportunities.
The Environmental, Safety and Health, and Quality Assurance Department at Sanford Underground Research Facility promotes health and safety in the workplace, as well as healthy living and wellness for all employees. If you have questions about health and wellness, please contact our occupational health nurse, Laura Baatz, who is onsite daily at lbaatz@sanfordlab.org.