The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri stresses the importance of volunteers

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri says volunteers are essential to efficiently run the organization.

According to the director of communications and marketing for the Food Bank of Central & Northeast Missouri, all of the volunteer hours donated equates to 40 full-time employees.

"Volunteers are so incredibly important," said Katie Adkins. "We have volunteers who are here every day...we have volunteers who come for four-hour shifts once a month and we have volunteers who just come during a specific season. All of those people are absolutely integral to the mission of the food bank."

Adkins says those volunteers help the food bank to serve around 100,000 people each month. In turn, she says the organization helps to serve about 20 million meals every year.

One of the volunteers for the food bank is Jason West, the communications director for the Missouri State High School Activities Association. Recently, he donated his time alongside a group of his coworkers.

"The camaraderie we get to have in the office and then the feeling of being able to do something for the community that we don't necessarily get to see all of the time....it's just a great feeling and helps with the holiday spirit," said West.

West recalled one of his favorite memories while volunteering at the food bank.

"The best one was when we got to put together bags of M&Ms," said West. "It looked like a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos...We've had a lot of fun doing a lot of different things."

Adkins said during the holidays, volunteer slots tend to fill up quicker, but it's important to remember that giving back to the community is something that can be done all year long.       

"In the spring months, you know January, February, March... we see a dip in those volunteers," said Adkins. "So if you're booking a volunteer shift, I would encourage you to book one now and book one for the future too."

One way to give back to the food bank is to sign up to volunteer your time or donate monetarily.

Individuals can also choose to drop off cash donations or non-perishable food items at the One for One Food Drive and Fund on Wednesday. Those food drive locations are at the Columbia Mall and Buchheit of Jefferson City.

Donations will be collected until 6 on Wednesday night.