Weight Watchers Volunteer at the Food Bank

Lose For Good is a connection between losing weight and eating for physical hunger.  Weight Watchers got on the bandwagon four years ago. My family and I have been linking these two sides of food for years now.

Let's go back in time.  Let's see - I went to Weight Watchers to lose weight in 1999.  After losing over 70 pounds and joining the staff, I was leading Weight Watchers meetings in Oakland.  Hundreds of people poured through the doors, wanting to be healthier, more mindful and some wanting to change a lifetime of emotional eating.  

I looked at the members and thought that there must be just as many people in our community who are truly, physically hungry.  There are moms who can't feed their kids dinner at night, or give them breakfast before sending them off to school in the morning.  How could I connect those of us with access to too much food with those who don't have enough?  I found out about the local food bank, and coordinated four big Saturday volunteer events.  My family came along and helped out.  Each time we left the food bank, we felt like our family had made a real difference in someone else's life.  We felt that our children were understanding how fortunate they were to have food in the refrigerator - something that they had always taken for grated.  It was important work for our family and for our community.

So, our family has been volunteering monthly since 2000.  We love it, and now act as Saturday facilitators at the Alameda County Community Food Bank.  In fact, we just got home from there- and with 30+ Weight Watchers volunteers once again!

Four years ago, Weight Watchers North America heard about another leader creating this food bank connection with her members, and thought that it was a great idea.  So now, Weight Watchers donates $1 for every pound members lose in North America during the seven-week Lose For Good campaign.  They donate up to $1 million to two food banks, one national and one international.   This means that Americans lose 1 million pounds and the food banks receive $1 million.  Then, some of us on staff also get local food drives going.

So, I brought a bunch of Weight Watchers to the food bank to volunteer.

First off, we brought in the amount of weight we've lost in canned goods.  So, I brought in 75 pounds of chili representing my weight loss.  In total, we donated 625 pounds of food, representing our combined weight loss.  That's a LOT of food, and a lot of pounds lost.  Then, we sorted plums, nectarines and carrots.  We chatted, we bagged and then clapped with delight at having packed six tons of food.  This is real food that real people will receive.  It is so rewarding to be a part of this food connection.

You could do this for yourself too.  Want to lose five pounds?  Pick up a five pound bag of rice or beans at the store.  Feel that weight.  Then buy the bag of food and donate it to our food barrel at 357 3rd Street, Montecito Plaza, in San Rafael.  We've got a barrel there and I would love to see it overflowing with healthy goodness - beans, peanut butter, tuna, vegetables, fruits canned in natural juice and whole grains.

That's one fun event down, and it was a resounding success!  Next is my Trader Joe's tour at the San Rafael TJ's.  Now that's going to be a party too - can't wait!