2. Where Can I Make a Difference ?
Just for today,
I will make a difference;
Where is a place I can devote
One hour at a time. my time that has been
established? Where is a
Looking to help make
the world a better place, where I can make
place. After all, isn't
there enough angry change?
words, violence, and
unkindness in the world Hey Mister, have you got a
all ready?
dollar? "No, but I can make
change."
3. "Impacting Lives One Meal At A
Time"
Feeding The Hungry
Since 1981 (31 Years)
Mission:
Provide individuals in
need with food and
other necessities to
help them alleviate the
burden of hunger and
its consequences.
4. Two Locations
Head Quarters 1435 Hoff Industrial
6282 Olive Blvd Drive
St.Louis MO 63130 O'Fallon, MO 63366
314.726.5355 314.544.3500
5. Meet The Staff
The Executive
Director, Sunny
Schaefer
Sunny has pioneered in
making a change in the
bistate area for over
three decades!
6. Staff Member
Gary Wells, General
Manager.
Gary has worked at
food banks for 14 years.
He also participated in
the campaign to get the
Missouri sales tax on
groceries reduced.
Gary fights on behalf of
the poor, because they
cannot do it alone.
7. Staff Member
Executive Assistant /
Volunteer Coordinator
Steve has held this
position since August
2011 and gives of his
personal time as well
and has worked with at
least one other non-
profit organization
starting as a Volunteer.
8. Steve Baer
He schedules individual
volunteers , volunteer groups from
schools, corporations, and faith communities
to come in to the distribution center and help
package food for OFS's member agencies and
food pantries. He also assists with donation
processing, fundraising, special event
planning, data entry, preparing the
newsletter, and grant proposals. He has also had
to stop in the middle of his busy day just to go
and get supplies (very rarely, usually, but stuff
happens).
9. Staff Member
Nutrition Education
Manager, Leslie
Bertsch, a registered
dietician who plays the
role in not only getting
enough food but
making healthy food
choices to make it last
longer and give the
body what it needs
nutritionally.
10. Staff Member
Receptionist and
Dispatcher, Bridget
Brooks - Bridget is one
who cannot help but
make you smile and she
is the first to greet you
as you enter the
building of Operation
Food Search. Bridget
has been with the OFS
Team since the year
2000.
12. Staff Member
Agency Relations
Coordinator, Julia
Fuller, Julia assists Food
Pantries and making
sure they get
everything they need
from donations to
distribution and safety
measures of all food
delivered.
13. Staff Member
Program Coordinator-
Cooking
Matters, Mariella Funk
She educates on
nutrition and sets up
classes for groups
among agencies so that
those whom benefit
from the pantries and
what not learn to make
healthy choices.
14. Staff Member
Community Relations Director -
St. Charles Distribution
Center, Denny Gladieu, Denny
wanted to get involved with
feeding people in the St. Louis
area. He joined Operation Food
Search in 2004 as a volunteer and
found a great place to
serve. However, an added
benefit was meeting his wife
Karen, who was working at OFS.
After moving to St. Charles
County, Denny and Karen helped
open a second distribution center
for Operation Food Search in
Wentzville. Now in the third year
of operation, Denny thanks God
for all the many
donors, supporters, and
volunteers that have been
involved. Their efforts are
helping to feed 24,000 people
each month in St.
Charles, Lincoln, and Warren
County.
15. Staff Member
Community Outreach
Director - St.
Charles Distribution
Center, Karen Gladieux,
Karen began
volunteering with
Operation Food Search
in 2002 and jumped at
the opportunity to
become part of the OFS
staff just a few months
later.
16. Staff Member
Food Resources, Craig
Goldford,
He arranges part of the
food pickups and who
will help sponsor as well
as some of public
relations and benefits
as well as marketing
consulting.
17. Staff Member
Finance Director, Tim
Gruenenfelder
performs the
accounting, payroll, ben
efits
administration, and
records management
duties at Operation
Food Search. Tim has
over 10 years of non-
profit accounting
experience. He finds his
work to be
rewarding, as it
matches both his career
objectives and his
personal goal of helping
others.
22. Staff Member
Warehouse
Manager, Bob Schunzel Bob manages the warehouse
and picks up the pallets of
made by volunteers and
loads them in to the trucks
and organizes the
warehouse and upkeep.
23. Services and Programs
Food Distribution- Currently OFS distributes
two million pounds of food every month.
There are approximately 234 agencies in
Missouri and Illinois that gets this food. Forty
to eighty agencies come every morning of
distribution, to get perishables, non
perishables, perishables, personal care
items, and other items as available.
26. The Pantries and Agencies
Each Partner Where the donations of food
/Pantry and other items go?
Operator/and 83%Food Pantries
Agency worker
has to pass a 7% Meal Programs
Safe Food 6% Homeless
Serve Exam shelters/Transitional Housing
through a Program
course offered 2% Rehab programs
by OFS
2% Senior programs
27. Food Distribution
Volunteers and workers loading a truck to help homeless, home bound, low income, all
ages, and back grounds of people
28. Hunger Hotline
Available 24/7 314-726-
5355
Follow the instructions
and you will be given
the name and phone
number of an agency in
your neighborhood (as
OFS does not distribute
food to individuals in
need rather they supply
the agencies with the
food and needed
items).
29. Why Employees, If Its a Non-
Profit Organization?
The employees either have some degree in
their back ground even if its not related to
their job.
The employees in many regards have the
education and can help educate others.
The Employees for the general perspective
are educated in the fields they are working.
30. Operation Backpack
Hunger doesn't take a
break on the weekend...
85% of children in St Louis
Public Schools rely on free
or reduced cost meal
programs
Often these children go
home on the weekends to
little or no food at home.
2011-2012 nearly 60,000
Backpacks will go out to
the children in St Louis this
was first started in 2008.
31. The Backpack Program
This also an extension of the nutritionists and
cooking matters - teach the children how to
prepare easy meals from the food in their
backpack.
This program is so important; in fact many
children are known to be latch key kids and the
food is not in the household to put on the table
at meal times. Parents are working, trying to find
work, or trying to find ways to provide for their
families through other means.
32. Nutrition Education
• Cooking Matters: Ground-
breaking nutrition education
and cooking classes designed
to teach people hands-on meal
preparation, practical nutrition
information, and food
budgeting skills.
• Health Fairs: Provide
pamphlets, handouts, and
general nutrition information to
health fair participants.
• Nutrition
Presentations: Provide
presentations on a variety of
popular nutrition topics. For
example, how to follow a
healthy diabetic diet, or how to
get your picky eater to eat
their fruits and vegetables.
• Cooking
Demonstrations: Teach
participants how to prepare a
nutritious recipe (or two). Free
samples are of course
provided!
• Hunger 101: Teaches
participants about issues and
barriers faced by those
experiencing food insecurity
and hunger.
33. Cooking Matters
The experts and volunteers both help educate the
people they help in learning how to prepare food
healthy, cost-cutting and delicious.
As you have seen by other pictures, the staff gets
involved in special events and making floats to be
supportive and help in other fund raising events.
This is where grants and and many donations also
come in to help support the classes and necessary
materials needed.
34. The Volunteer Work I Did
I worked on jewelry
donated to OFS for the
most part and stayed
extra hours many days.
I really enjoyed it as
tedious work it might
seem.
The Jewelry went into
Backpacks on
Valentines Day for
guardians as well as for
Mother's Day also.
35. More of The Jewelry
Ribbons and Plastic Bags I cut the ribbon
and filled the plastic bags and tied a knot These are what the bags looked like and we
around the plastic bag filled boxes and tubs full of these more than
4,000 bags full of these
40. Things To Keep In Mind
My second day at OFS I I also worked in the ware
stuffed envelopes to house a day or two
marking out bar codes
get out tax letters to filling non-perishables in
different donors boxes.
obviously this couldnt Many times the ones
be finished in 3 hours lifting these boxes are
so I stayed until the job elderly you really want to
was done. make light weight box
for these as it is hard for
them to lift and carry
with no help.
41. It's So Important
To be open minded.
To be willing to give of your time and ability
To see the job get done
To remember your limits and time constraints
To be respectful of everyone
To be on time
To call if an emergency arises
To not just be there for a grade or feel you have
to rather, you want to be, because you're making
change, even if you cannot give a dollar.
42. What I Loved About OFS
I loved the common respect and that I mattered
because I was helping make a difference while being
educated at the same time.
I also got the chance to talk with people I knew and
tried to set up some help for those in need through
OFS who also had non-profit status.
Everyone was friendly.
Everyone cared and everyone was making a
difference
I got to see my personal beliefs at work within
people which is the way I choose to view the World
everyone being a helping hand of something greater
than man to meet the needs of everyone in need.
43. What It Takes?
It takes more than just you or I
It takes all of the donors and their donations
It takes all of the volunteers
It takes all of the staff
It takes all the cheerfulness you can muster
It takes some elbow grease
It takes all of the special events and fund raisers
It takes all of these things working together to
help put an end to hunger.
44. Thank You For Viewing
This opportunity has meant the world to me
All Pictures and Resources are not
copyrighted they are used with permission.
Sources used are pamphlets, interviews, and
my experience with Operation Food Search.
I hope you too will choose to go out and do
good work and succeed.