This week Mayor Nancy Backus and Waste Management Northwest are partnering up again to support the Auburn Food Bank. Waste Management customers are urged to place food bank donations on their curbside when they put out their cans for pick up. Waste Management will handle the rest!
How to Donate
To participate in the donation drive, place donations in bags or boxes next to your Waste Management carts on your regular Waste Management service day. Mark the donations “food drive.” Your donations should be placed on the curb by 7:00am. Waste Management staff will pick up the donations, and deliver them to the Auburn Food Bank.
If your donation has not been picked up by the end of the day, please call Waste Management customer service at 1-800-592-9995 and let them you know your food drive donation was missed. Waste Management will gladly pick it up the next business day.
Acceptable donations items are:
- Sealed, non-perishable and unexpired food
- Non-food items such as diapers and toiletries
- Please, no alcohol or glass containers
Currently the food bank needs canned meats and hygiene items.
The goal for this year’s Mayor’s Day of Concern for the Hungry is to “surpass last year’s total of nearly three tons of items donated by Auburn residents,” shared John L. Chelminiak, Waste Management Senior Manager.
Waste Management Gives Back to the Auburn Food Bank
To help kick off the week of giving, Waste Management presented Auburn Food Bank Director Debbie Christian and Mayor Nancy Backus with a $1,500 check on Thursday. This money comes from Waste Management’s ‘Think Green’ grants. Chelminiak explained that Waste Management “puts some money aside for each of its areas to be able to make a donation to a worthy group. We’ve been growing the Auburn Food Drive over the past couple of years and we’re making a donation from the grant fund to keep it growing. It allows the food bank to make a targeted purchase of food to serve any need it has.”
“We are an organization that survives on the goodwill of people. We can get grants but they’re not always sustainable,” said Christian. “Having the support of businesses in our community, and our citizens of this community is invaluable! It’s worth far more than the dollar value on the check! This dollar value will help us pay for 2 1/2 weeks’ worth of food for or school Food to Go program, or it could cover six households with rent or utility assistance! If making a purchase for food, we can spend it at five times its face value. And, it’s a morale booster for our board and staff!”
Mayor Backus also shared her pride in the Auburn community’s response to the donation drive, “I’m proud of our community and their past generous response to the Waste Management request. I’m confident that this year will be no different! The donations go a long way to ensuring everyone in our City has healthy food to eat.”
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