This November, members of the Sanford Lab Working Wellness Group donated two hours of their day to help stock shelves at Feeding South Dakota's warehouse in Rapid City. In December, the group hopes to return, bringing food items donated by Sanford Lab employees.
It’s nutrition month at Sanford Lab. Often, discussions about nutrition focus on balanced meals, food pyramids, fewer cookies and more broccoli. These discussions tend to assume that nutrition is a choice, not a privilege. However, according to Feeding South Dakota, in our state,
- 13.7% of individuals live at or below the poverty line;
- One out of every nine individuals in South Dakota is food insecure;
- One out of every six children is at risk of going hungry;
- Nearly 50% of the individuals served by Feeding South Dakota are children and infants;
- More than 40 percent of residents living in the counties of Corson, Ziebach, Oglala, and Lakota are considered persons in poverty;
- And 43 percent of South Dakota school-aged children qualify for free and reduced meals.
This holiday season, Sanford Underground Research Facility (Sanford Lab) will host a food drive for its local community through Feeding South Dakota, an organization that combats each of the above statistics.
Food drive details
The food drive will run from mid-November through mid-December, with food items being delivered by Sanford Lab staff to Feeding South Dakota in Rapid City. Food items will be distributed to our community through mobile, school and community pantries, including the Lord’s Cupboard in Lead, SD.
“Anything we receive, we put to work where hunger is greatest,” said Shawn Burke, development associate at Feeding South Dakota.
Totes will be placed in work areas across the facility, listing the items most needed by area food pantries. The following are the most requested items:
- Peanut Butter & Jelly
- Cereal
- Boxed Meals (i.e. Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper)
- Pasta and Rice
- Canned fruits
- Canned vegetables
- Canned meats and canned pasta
- Soup
- Baby food and baby formula (not in glass jars)
For more information on what to donate, click here.
About Feeding South Dakota
In FY18, Feeding South Dakota as a whole distributed 12.2 million pounds of food in the fight against hunger. Our partnership with Feeding America provides us with access to millions of pounds of food product that is donated by corporations all across America. It is through this affiliation that we are able to provide a wider variety of store shelf quality food to our organizations.
Every single week, Feeding South Dakota assists in providing temporary food assistance to approximately 21,000 hungry individuals and families in our state and our BackPack Program gives food every weekend to over 5,500 kids who otherwise might go hungry.
Your donations of money, food, and time allow Feeding South Dakota to positively impact thousands of people every year. Real people. Real men, real women and real children who need your help and whose lives are changed when they receive it.
Check out their website for details on volunteer and donation opportunities.
The Environmental, Safety and Health, and Quality Assurance Department at Sanford Underground Research Facility promotes health and safety in the workplace, as well as healthy living and wellness for all employees. If you have questions about health and wellness, please contact our occupational health nurse, Laura Baatz, who is onsite daily at lbaatz@sanfordlab.org.