If you only read one Green Dog Wine post in it’s entirety this year – I kindly request that you make it this one.  I won’t ask again until 2012. Seriously – please read ALL of this.

A few weeks ago – I was lucky enough to receive an email – from the Cleveland Foodbank – inviting me out for an exclusive blogger tour!

Okay, okay – maybe I’m not “THAT” special – turns out – I know people on the inside!

My Foodbank friends: My Aunt Barbara, and Ms. Bite Buff herself – Katrina!

To say that I was impressed, humbled, and really – even – OVERWHELMED by my time touring the facility with these ladies would be an understatement.

I always knew that the Foodbank provided food for those in need, but I never understood the shear magnitude of work and effort that go into that, and just how many people are in need.

Wanna see all the cool stuff I got to check out, AND learn a little more about giving back???  C’mon – let’s check it out!

Once you walk through the main doors – you are greeted by a one of the coolest business lobbies I’ve seen in a while.  Their motto is right on the wall where you enter:

Followed by a pretty glass wall listing all the financial donors to their capital campaign which helped them build their new facility 6 years ago – AND…

…see that “thing” in the right hand corner of the above picture?  That is officially – the COOLEST sculpture/art I’ve ever seen.

Those are slices of bread in some crazy substance that won’t ever let them disintegrate or go moldy.

And NO – that brown/black one second from the right is not moldy.  It’s nut bread.  I know – because I asked.

DID YOU KNOW: The Cleveland Foodbank distributed 32.89 millions pounds of food and non-food items last year??

From there it was right on to the action in the warehouse!  I know I already said this – but I had no idea what I was getting myself in to – there were SO MANY DIFFERENT SECTIONS!

1st Section: The Volunteer Repack area!

This was the area that I’d always imagined when someone would say “Foodbank”.  This is where food donations from individuals come in – and then get sorted and re-packaged.

All the items are sorted/grouped – and then packaged up to go on the warehouse shelves.

Very quickly I learned how very little I knew!

DID YOU KNOW: There are 618 member hunger programs (pantries, hot meal sites, shelters, children’s programs, etc) served by the Cleveland Foodbank (in their 6 county service territory)?!?!?!

The program that really struck a cord with me was their BackPacks for Kids program.

BackPacks for Kids fills backpacks with food – and distributes them to children (who are on free lunches due to low/no family income) to take home for the weekend.  Without this program – these children might not have a single thing to eat for 2 straight days.

DID YOU KNOW: Last year they distributed 68,956 weekend bags of food for BackPacks for Kids! Amazing how much they were able to get out there, and also, so sad that there is THAT MUCH need.

Next up was the Main Warehouse.

The Main Warehouse can best be summed up by one word.  WOW.

These pictures don’t do the space justice.  IT IS ABSOLUTELY HUGE!!!

DID YOU KNOW: At any given time there is approximately 2 million pounds of food in the warehouse, and it only takes about 3 weeks for it all to be distributed?

The systems that the Cleveland Foodbank has in place were truly amazing!

Row after row of food filled shelves – all barcoded, labeled, categorized, inventoried – and only 6 people (6 people!!!) – RACING around on these special forklifts picking food for member agencies’ orders.

And when I say racing around – I mean racing around!  You need to make sure you stay on the proper side of the yellow line so that you don’t get taken out!

Another cool feature of the main warehouse?  These windows:

Cool, because:  these are windows looking right into the executives’ offices.

The Foodbank really prides themselves on open communication on all levels of the company.  I don’t know about you – but I wouldn’t be crazy about having my computer screen open to anyone!  MAJOR kudos to them for that!

At the end of all the rows of product is the member pick up area.  This is where the member agencies (local churches, kitchens, etc – distributing to the hungry) – come to pick up the orders they placed – which have all been pre-pulled and organized.

As we walked through this section – I came up with , what I deemed, my ‘BEST QUESTION YET”

I asked: What do you do/what happens when you have produce that is nearing its expiration date and needs to move quickly??

Turns out – I was asking the question at the EXACT right moment – because right next to the member agency pick up area – is the Cleveland Foodbank Marketplace!

What is the Cleveland Foodbank Marketplace?  It’s essentially a store within the Foodbank, where they have items on super sale/special so that they move before their expiration date!

DID YOU KNOW: While many of the “menu items” that the Foodbank has on their shelves are available for FREE to their member programs – some food needs be purchased, and the average cost to member agency = 9 cents per pounds – which is absolutely phenomenal if you think about it!

Next, its was off to the back end of the building!

This is the Kitchen Repack area – where volunteers get everything prepped to go in to…

…the actual kitchen!  See what I mean? I had no idea they had a full kitchen! I thought the Foodbank just collected random bags of food donations from people.  Not the case – they do so much more!!!!

DID YOU KNOW: Cleveland Community Kitchen produces 7,000 meals a day for hunger centers to distribute?

The state of the art kitchen goes through a DAILY USDA INSPECTION – and is continually rated one of the cleanest (if not THE CLEANEST) in the state!  Pretty. Dang. Impressive.

They also keep all of theirs stats posted right up on the wall, sort of as a reminder/driving force to keep working hard!

Next up – behind this big scary SUPER COOL door that is motion activated…

…the freezers!

Again – truly amazing the sheer volume of food that they can house, and then subsequently move and deliver before it goes bad!  Unreal!

DID YOU KNOW: There were 8,696,067 pounds of fresh produce distributed last year.

The last section I got to check out was the delivery bay – where trucks from local grocery stores as well as nationwide chains drop off donation deliveries.

They get truckloads every single day from stores with extra inventory!  I thought that was really reassuring to know that when there is extra – instead of throwing it away or wasting it – big corporations are making sure it goes to those in need!

The last thing I got to check out may or may not have been the coolest part of my tour – check out the super duty saran-wrapper machine!!

I didn’t get to see it in action, but seeing the machine, and then end result – I knew it was COOL!

It’s safe to say that between everything I saw in the warehouse, kitchen, freezer, and MarketPlace, to everything I saw in their offices (including this info graphic showing how many programs they have running)…

..truly had an impact on me.  I realize how very much I have, and that I all too often take it for granted.

I also signed up to be a volunteer the next day.  You can do the same HERE!

DID YOU KNOW: Last year 9,893 Volunteers contributed 57,293 hours; saved the Foodbank from from hiring 27.5 full time employees?

So I’ll leave you with this.

Just once.

Just once – when you are going off to spend money on something you absolutely do not need (i.e.: manicure, tanning, dining out, expensive jeans, bags, etc.)

Stop.

Go through your pantry/go to the grocery store – and bring a bag of goods out to your local Foodbank instead.

Here’s the 12 items they need the most – but they are ALWAYS willing to accept any sort of donations!

“Super Six” food items are:

1. Soup
2. Cereal
3. Peanut Butter
4. Tuna Fish
5. Canned Vegetables
6. Beef Stew

“Super Six” non-food items are:

1. Soap
2. Toilet paper
3. Toothpaste/toothbrush
4. Shampoo
5. Deodorant
6. Laundry Detergent

OR – CASH DONATIONS ARE WELCOMED AS WELL!

• Every $1 donated to the Cleveland Foodbank allows them to provide enough food for four meals in a hunger center
• Donations can be made online at www.clevelandfoodbank.org or by mailing a check to 15500 South Waterloo Road, Cleveland OH 44110