The Refrigerated Foods Association (RFA) reports a collective donation of $8,000 to Feeding America during 2020’s National Deli Salad Month (July).  Member companies committed to donating both monetarily and with in-kind donations as a collective effort to combat hunger in their own communities.  Hands-on volunteer work was also encouraged. Their July fundraiser resulted in a total of $8,000 for Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization.   Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of food is also donated to local food banks each year by these businesses.

The Refrigerated Foods Association (RFA), as an organization comprised of food manufacturers from throughout North America, felt compelled to challenge member companies to make a difference for the one in seven Americans who struggle to get enough food each day.  This charitable effort was spearheaded by RFA’s Membership Committee Chair, Wendie DiMatteo Holsinger of ASK Foods in Palmyra, Pennsylvania. Wendie states, “This charitable undertaking during Deli Salad Month really opened our eyes to the generosity and involvement of RFA member companies in their communities and our world…  I have never been more proud to be a member of the RFA.” Some RFA members serve on the Boards of local food banks and give not only money and food, but also time and commitment to address the issue of hunger.

The Refrigerated Foods Association has incorporated hands-on volunteering opportunities in their Annual Conference. This past year, volunteers put together kids’ pack meal kits in Orlando to benefit the local charity Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. Each year, the association organizes some kind of philanthropic element to support the community they are visiting. 

In the words of Anne Frank, “Hunger is not a problem. It is an obscenity. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” This year, more than ever, RFA members are hearing the call to serve and supporting a world so desperately in need. The Refrigerated Foods Association’s members are humbly working towards making a difference where they can, in their own communities with what they have to give.