News

Waste Management Picking Up Where Oaklanders Leave Off

OAKLAND, Calif.-(Business Wire)-October 1, 2008 - When Waste Management of Alameda County (WMAC) began formulating plans for a community project that would benefit Alameda County, they didn’t have to veer far from their area of expertise for inspiration.

“You might say we’re moving up a couple of notches on the food chain,” said David Tucker, Waste Management Municipal Affairs Manager in announcing that the company will collect food for the Alameda County Community Food Bank on its Oakland routes the week of Oct. 6-10.

Residents on Waste Management’s 43 Oakland routes can simply place non-perishable items in a bag next to their curbed trash and recycling on their normal Monday (Oct. 6) through Friday (Oct. 10) collection date.

WM managers will follow refuse collection trucks in labeled vehicles – the company has rented 10 for non-perishable food collection.

“Our goal is to collect 50,000 pounds of food from Oakland,” said Tucker, “so the people who are normally sitting in offices are going to have to keep up with the hustle level of the Waste Management street crews. It should be pretty entertaining for our street crews.”

“The passion around this project, which has been in the planning stages for months, has been off the charts,” Tucker added. “This Food Drive has been a source of pride for everyone in the company since the inception stages.”

For the Food Bank, Waste Management’s effort serves as an emphatic kickoff to the Food Bank’s traditional Holiday Food Drive.

“This is a year of unprecedented need in Alameda County,” Bateson noted. “Waste Management’s innovative food drive will put food in the mouths of a lot of families that haven’t traditionally needed our services. The timing is extraordinary, because early October is before our holiday season when food resources are low and need is escalating.”

About the Food Bank: Established in 1985, the Alameda County Community Food Bank, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, works with 300 community based organizations, including soup kitchens and food pantries, to provide emergency food assistance to 40,000 people in need each week, which includes 14,000 children and 7,000 seniors. In addition to food distribution, the Food Bank works to break the cycle of poverty and hunger through education and advocacy efforts. The Food Bank is located at 7900 Edgewater Drive in Oakland and is open M-F, 8:30 – 5. For more information, call (510) 635-3663 or visit www.accfb.org.

Send this news item to a friend.

Print This Page