As moving companies enter the busy summer season, a Chicago-based mover reminds people they can donate food items as they pack up.
Reebie Storage & Moving Co. wrapped two of its 24-foot moving trucks last month with information about nonprofit partner Move For Hunger and a message to "donate your food when you move."
Reebie's vice president, Richard Licata, said families often ask movers what they should do with things they don't want, and that includes food items.
Reebie was the first agent of Allied Van Lines to get involved with Move For Hunger about five years ago, and numerous companies under the Allied umbrella now participate, Licata said. Reebie has brought more than 200,000 pounds of food to local food banks.
"There's a need there, and we kind of fill that need," he said.
Adam Lowy, founder and executive director of Move For Hunger, started the nonprofit almost six years ago, after observing food waste firsthand while working for his family's moving company in New Jersey.
"When people move … they throw away a lot of stuff," including nonperishable food items, Lowy said.
Bothered by the waste, Lowy was inspired to create a nonprofit that has movers collect unopened, non-perishable food items when a family is moving, and bring those items to a local food pantry. He said more than 5 million pounds of food has been donated since Move For Hunger was founded.
Summer can be a critical time for hunger issues, Lowy said, since children who receive things like backpacks filled with food during the school year are without that assistance.
"But, on the other end, people move in the summer," he said, and their unwanted food can be donated. "I think it's a really great fit."
Move For Hunger's website offers a tool to search for movers that partner with the nonprofit, and Lowy encouraged people to choose socially responsible moving companies when relocating.
"Reebie is a great example of that," he said.
Licata said the wraps on the trucks spread word of the issue and the movers' ability to facilitate food donations. The company brings donated food to organizations like the local Salvation Army chapter and Loaves & Fishes in Naperville.
"We just want to create more awareness," he said. "People feel good about it. They don't want to just discard it. … It's a good feeling all the way around."
Licata said he expects the wraps will stay on the trucks for their life span, which is about five years.
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Contact Reebie Allied:
Bill Vallos
(773) 549-0120
webleads@reebieallied.com
2325 N Clark St Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60614
