Over 42 million Americans struggle with hunger or are food insecure. There is plenty of food to feed those in need; the problem is that perfectly good food gets thrown away. Approximately 40 percent of food in the U.S. goes to waste. Why let good food be discarded when it could be making a difference for those who are hungry? Crown Relocations has teamed up with Move for Hunger to capture some of these non-perishable foods and redistribute them to food banks.
Crown Relocations provides transportation, destination and immigration services, as well as family support, to assist people relocating internationally or domestically. Oftentimes when a person or family is being relocating, they end up throwing away a majority of their pantry. Crown has a large and distinguished presence in the relocation industry, which has provided it with unique access to thousands of cupboards, shelves and pantries filled with items set to be thrown away during the moving process. This also makes it an ideal partner for Move for Hunger.
“Our customers love knowing that their excess food is not going to waste. There is too much to do when you are moving to be able to find the nearest food bank, find out when they are open and drop food off to them. We facilitate this with total convenience for our customer and the food banks,” said Tony Valentine, vice president of operations, North America. The partnership has already resulted in the donation of 632,700 lbs. of non-perishable food for those in need – which equals 527,250 donated meals since the partnership began in 2015.
Move for Hunger was founded nine years ago by Adam Lowy. Lowy’s family has owned and operated a moving company in New Jersey for 100 years. While working in the family business, Lowy noticed that people threw away so much food during the moving process. He began to ask people if they wanted to donate their food, and collected 300 pounds of food in the first 30 days. He found out that there were 100,000 people in his community alone that didn’t have enough food, and from that point on Lowy knew this was something he had to continue.
“Our relationship with Crown could not be more powerful,” said Lowy. “In the last three years, I have had the pleasure of watching this amazing company fully adopt our philosophy and help take us to new heights. When you see industry leaders who care and put effort into the issue, that’s when you know you’re making a difference.”
“One of the greatest things about working with Move for Hunger is that we are giving back to the communities where our customers and employees live and work,” noted Valentine. With offices and clients all across the country, Crown in conjunction with Move for Hunger is able to create real change. “In addition to giving back, it gives our team members a great sense of pride to know we have done something to help others in need. We don’t just drop food off at food banks, we also get involved with the food banks near our offices by offering our time to help with sorting and distribution of the food. When we do this together it is a fun team exercise,” Valentine added.
Through Crown, Move for Hunger has collected 230,622 pounds of food in 2017 alone. That equates 192,185 total meals. The largest collection cities in 2017 in which Crown has effected change at the neighborhood level and has had the opportunity to collect and donate are:
1. Chicago 84,495 lbs. = 70,413 meals
2. New York 56,736 lbs. = 47,280 meals
3. Houston 31,657 lbs. = 26,381 meals
4. San Francisco 26,537 lbs. = 22,114 meals
5. Los Angeles 16,206 lbs. = 13,505 meals
6. Miami 13,340 lbs. = 11,117 meals
7. Toronto 1,243 lbs. = 1,036 meals
8. Calgary 408 lbs. = 340 meals
Crown has adopted Move for Hunger as a part of its culture. With a focus on sustainability, community and social responsibility, Crown has made food rescue a core pillar of its business and culture. Both Crown and Move for Hunger look forward to a continued partnership reducing food insecurity and food waste through food rescue.