Love's volunteers donate time to Oklahoma City-area food banks

For Valentine's Day, 160 employees from Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores joined the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and the Moore Food & Resource Center in the fight against hunger through their annual "Share the Love" event. 

Through this event, Love's employees volunteered their time to ensure Oklahomans would have enough to eat this spring by packing and sorting donations at the Regional Food Bank. Volunteers also stocked the shelves of the Moore Food & Resource Center, an affiliate of the Regional Food Bank, and helped clients shop for food.

" 'Share the Love' is a day when the majority of our corporate office employees get out and make a difference in the community together," Jenny Love Meyer, vice president of communications for Love's, said in a news release. "We believe in being good stewards of the community, both here in Oklahoma City where our corporate offices are located, and in communities where we operate stores. Volunteering at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma is a great way to positively impact the lives of so many Oklahomans, and we're proud to partner with them for this effort." 

This is the third year Love's employees have celebrated "Share the Love."  Last year, nearly 90 employees from Love's volunteered.

Share the Love began in 2014 as a way to commemorate Love's 50th anniversary. Love's corporate employees spent Valentine's Day — a day reserved for love — volunteering at the Regional Food Bank. Love's started the volunteer day as a way to say thank you to the community that is home to its corporate headquarters in Oklahoma City.

How it helps

"We are grateful for the volunteer support provided by Love's," said Rodney Bivens, executive director of the Regional Food Bank.  "Thanks to their employees, the equivalent of 28,340 meals will be provided to our hungry Oklahoma neighbors this spring."

One in six Oklahomans struggles with hunger. Most of the clients served by the Regional Food Bank are seniors, children and families. The Regional Food Bank is the largest private hunger-relief organization in Oklahoma. Last fiscal year, the nonprofit distributed 49.9 million pounds of food and products through a network of more than 1,250 charitable feeding programs and schools in 53 central and western Oklahoma counties.

The Moore Food & Resource Center provides increased access to food for residents in Moore and south Oklahoma City. The center has extended hours and days of operation and features client-choice shopping, which is similar to a supermarket.

"We see it here every day — more and more of our Oklahoma neighbors need help making sure their family has enough food on the table," Tyler Geohagan, director of the Moore Food & Resource Center, said in a news release. "The more Oklahomans we serve, the more volunteers we need to help stock our shelves and help clients shop for nutritious food for their families. We are thankful for all of the Love's volunteers."

Source: Love's volunteers donate time to Oklahoma City-area food banks