Kaiser Permanente Employees Honor Dr. King with Day of Service Fighting Hunger

Employees will also provide free medical care to uninsured patients, refurbish donated bicycles, prepare food, gather clothing and hygiene items for farm workers and paint school classrooms and community centers.

Dr. Martin Luther King January 15th 1929 - April 4th 1968 Photo courtesy: africawithin.com

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Nearly 250 Kaiser Permanente employees from the Portland-Vancouver area will honor the memory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by spending his national holiday volunteering to repack bulk food into family-sized portions in OFB's Maybelle Clark Macdonald Volunteer Action Center.

"We thank Kaiser Permanente for helping to fight hunger," says Rachel Bristol, OFB's CEO. "OFB faces a major food shortage due to declining donations from USDA and the food industry. Kaiser Permanente's donation and volunteer support come at a vital time as we work to fill the gap."

Kaiser Permanente Foundation Health Plan is donating $25,000. OFB will use the donation to purchase dried soup mix that Kaiser Permanente volunteers will repack. Volunteers will also repack much-needed produce.

"This day of service is just one part of Kaiser Permanente's effort to give back to the community," said Sue Hennessy, vice president, Kaiser Permanente Health Plan Services, who will be volunteering at the food bank. "We are paying more than 750 employees to take this day off from their regular work to volunteer at 19 different sites from Vancouver to Salem."

In addition to volunteering at Oregon Food Bank, employees will provide free medical care to uninsured patients, refurbish donated bicycles, prepare food, gather clothing and hygiene items for farm workers and paint school classrooms and community centers.

Oregon Food Bank is a nonprofit, charitable organization. It is the hub of the Oregon Food Bank Network, a statewide network of 20 regional food banks and 919 agencies and programs serving Oregon and Clark County, Wash. Oregon Food Bank recovers food from farmers, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, individuals and government sources.

It then delivers that food to 20 regional food banks covering OFB's service area. Regional food banks distribute this food and additional resources from local donations to nonprofit programs serving low-income people in their communities. Sixteen of the 20 regional food banks are independent charitable organizations.

OFB directly operates the four regional food banks serving the Portland metro area, southeast Oregon and Tillamook County. Those four centers distribute food to 340 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other programs helping low-income individuals in Clackamas, Clark, Multnomah, Washington, Harney, Malheur and Tillamook counties. OFB also works to eliminate the root causes of hunger through advocacy, nutrition education, learning gardens and public education.

Source: Press release from Kaiser Permanente