Each month, we highlight one of the moving companies in our network for their extraordinary commitment to fighting hunger in their community. We are excited to announce that Imlach & Collins Brothers, an Atlas Van Lines agent, of Dallas, TX is our Mover of the Month for April 2017!
Imlach & Collins Brothers joined the Move For Hunger network back in December of 2012 and immediately started asking their customers to donate their food when they move.
"We just thought it was a really good cause and we wanted to be part of that," said Meagan Holder, Imlach & Collins Brothers' Head of Operations. "People throwing out food is a thing that happens pretty regularly."
Imlach & Collins made their first delivery to the food bank on June 10, 2013. They had collected an impressive 176 pounds of food, enough to provide 145 meals, but weren't satisfied with the result. Holder described the donation as "small peas."
"There's a lot more than we can do versus just collecting a can or two there at the residences," she said. "We partnered with a program called Food 4 Kids. That's when we really started seeing that we could create more of a presence."
Students who receive free or reduced-cost meals at school often face hunger during the weekend. The Food 4 Kids program provides at-risk children with backpacks full of nutritious, non-perishable food to take home on Fridays during the school year.
The North Texas Food Bank's program spans 10 counties, operates in 365 schools, and serves 12,000 chronically hungry children each week. Getting all those meals to the schools is a massive undertaking, and that's where Imlach & Collins Brothers can put their crew into action.
"Once a month, we’ll donate two men and a tractor trailer and go to a warehouse that has pallets of backpacks full of food," Holder explained. "The guys will go out to three different school districts (Allen, Plano, and Richardson Independent School Districts) and deliver the backpacks to the kids. We provide the manpower and the time to go out there and distribute it."
Terry Clark of the North Texas Food Bank said that, without Imlach & Collins Brothers, those school districts would not be able to participate in the program.
"We don't have the resources. We have trucks, but we have so many partner agencies to take care of. There's no way we could get more trucks to help with Food 4 Kids."
Every month, Imlach & Collins Brothers is delivering 10,000+ pounds of food to hungry children in their community. Since joining Move For Hunger, they've donated more than 418,000 pounds of food -- that's the equivalent of 348,000 meals for their neighbors in need.
Backpack programs like Food 4 Kids are vital to fighting childhood hunger across the country, but particularly so in Dallas. Feeding America's latest Map the Meal Gap report shows that 1 in 4 children in Dallas County is food insecure. In September, the city's poverty task force determined that Dallas has the worst childhood poverty rate of the country's 10 biggest cities. According to the report, about 38% of Dallas children live in poverty, and roughly 50,000 kids live in extreme poverty.
Holder says she believes that rising housing costs are exacerbating the problem.
"Hunger in Dallas is probably getting worse. There’s a lot of money that’s coming into our area, but with that taxes are going up, leases are going up, mortgages are going up. People don’t have as much money for food."
Dallas is indeed in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. The city has seen a sustained increase in housing costs since the 2008 recession and, "many low- and middle-income Dallasites struggle to find housing that meets their needs, regardless of whether they are looking to rent or own." Approximately 68,000 residents can only afford to live in homes that cost $400 or less, yet the median sales price of recently constructed homes rose from $145,000 in 2011 to $522,000 in 2016.
Holder said that her team feels a responsibility to help however they can.
In Holder's opinion, being a part of Move For Hunger is more than just a way to for Imlach & Collins Brothers to give back to their community. Our partnership is one of the first things Holder mentions to clients and prospective employees. It’s part their culture.
"When we're interviewing a prospective employee, it’s one of the first things that I mention. When people ask about our company, it’s one of the first things I mention. It’s about letting people know that we’re not just coming in here every day, clocking in, clocking out, and going home. We are making a difference in people’s lives. People respect that and want to work for a company like that."
Their philanthropic spirit extends beyond fighting hunger. There is a local radio show in Dallas that sends terminally ill children to Disney World every year. Imlach & Collins Brothers helps to make that possible by volunteering to move all of the show's equipment to Florida for the week.
"It doesn’t have anything to do with Move For Hunger, but we feel that we need to help those that are in need, no matter what the case may be."
Along with the award, Imlach & Collins Brothers will also be receiving a Move For Hunger hand truck, courtesy of Victory Packaging, lunch for their entire staff, compliments of Montway Auto Transport, and Move For Hunger truck decals for their entire fleet.
Congratulations to Imlach & Collins Brothers on this much-deserved recognition. Thank you for commitment to reducing food waste and fighting hunger in the Lonestar State!
Are you in the relocation industry? You can join the Move For Hunger network today. Doing good is good for business!
There are a number of ways to fight hunger in your community. Get started today!
