Studies show that creating a culture of volunteerism within your company boosts employee morale and improves workplace atmosphere. Successful businesses know that giving back is an effective and engaging team-building activity. Both employers and employees alike know that the need is great right now.
COVID-19 has placed an incredible burden on Hoosiers. Food insecurity is higher than ever. Feeding America estimates that 17.1 million additional people could find themselves without enough food as a result of repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic. Roughly 2 in 5 people visiting a food bank are seeking help for the first time.
How can human resource managers and volunteer coordinators engage employees in team-building volunteer opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic while keeping everyone safe?
At Million Meal Movement, we’ve pivoted our operations to allow volunteers to pack meals safely. As distributors of a food product, we’ve always placed the highest importance on food safety. Due to COVID-19, we’ve implemented additional measures to keep participants safe:
Socially distant assembly lines
We’ve spread out packing lines to ensure volunteers are six feet apart.
Limits on the number of volunteers
We only allow a maximum of 30-35 volunteers per packing event.
Private packs
If a group needs to be by themselves due to company guidelines, we are able to host private packing events.
Personal protective equipment and sanitary measures
Face masks are required at all times. In addition, we provide gloves and hairnets for each participant. Hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes are available, as is a portable hand washing station. When weather permits, we encourage air flow by leaving our garage doors open during the packing shifts.
Flexibility in event location
We offer the option to bring meal packaging to you. For companies that prefer to limit employees exposure, we can provide one or two Million Meal Movement staff to set up and run packing lines at the location of their choice.
Let us help you plan a safe and engaging team-building community service event. The demand is unprecedented – we need organizations like yours to step up and help us pack meals for Hoosiers. Email us at info@millionmealmovement.org or call 317-863-8655 to discuss your company volunteer event today.