U-Haul Company of Southwest Ohio, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Freestore Foodbank teamed up again this year for the 31st annual canned food drive to help feed the hungry.
Eleven donated U-Box moving and storage containers on Nov. 26 were strategically positioned around Paul Brown Stadium. Every year, Cincinnati-based Freestore Foodbank sets up U-Box containers donated by U-Haul to receive canned goods during the Battle of Ohio. This rivalry game involves the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns.
Serving as collection points, the U-Box containers received 5,174 pounds of food. Monetary contributions also totaled $20,000.
U-Haul took the U-Box containers to the food bank after the football game. The food collected will enable Freestore Foodbank to hand out 64,311 meals to hungry families in the Cincinnati Tri-State region this holiday season.
U-Haul Fighting Hunger
“On game day, we positioned the U-Box containers at each pick-up location,” states Tina Bomar, U-Box customer care representative. “There was no way you could miss the U-Box containers because the orange went perfectly with all the Bengals swag.”
After the game, the U-Box containers were off to the Freestore Foodbank. Then, U-Haul Company of Southwest Ohio Team Members helped unload the canned food items.
“Hunger affects people you see every day. The cashier at the store; a child in your son’s or daughter’s class; the senior down the street who requires expensive medications,” explains Kurt Reiber, president and CEO of Freestore Foodbank. “We truly appreciate U-Haul of Southwest Ohio’s continued support through the annual Cincinnati Bengals Canned Food Drive as we work to make sure that children and families in our community have enough to eat.”
U-Box Meets a Need
With 257 cubic feet of space and one-ton capacity, U-Box containers can be delivered to and picked up at your door, packed on your time, and placed in a secure warehouse until you are ready to retrieve your belongings. U-Box containers also ship anywhere.
By donating its U-Box containers, U-Haul has taken an active role in the Cincinnati Bengals Food Drive to benefit Freestore Foodbank for the last three years. In 2016, football fans generously filled U-Box containers with 9,675 pounds of food. There were also $22,000 in cash donations.
“Every day families are struggling to put food on the table,” says Drew Case, U-Haul Company of Southwest Ohio president. “It’s important that we support the Freestore Foodbank’s efforts to feed hungry people this holiday season.”
The Freestore Foodbank is one of Ohio’s largest food banks, distributing 24 million meals annually through a network of 400 community partner agencies serving 20 counties in Ohio, Kentucky and also Indiana.
Finally, to read more about U-Haul community service efforts, visit myuhaulstory.com.
