Googlers and Waymonauts Help Feed AZ Families
Yesterday at United Food Bank’s Volunteer center, we welcomed Google.org and Waymo employees to celebrate community partnerships and build holiday food bags. The Googlers and Waymonauts built 1,200 food bags and loaded them into a Waymo Via Semi-Truck to deliver to local food banks.
This wasn’t the only cause for celebration. Recently, Google.org partnered with Feeding America to provide meals for families around the country, as well as help support local food banks in technological advancements. “A solid technology infrastructure empowers our network food banks to get food to people who need it quickly and efficiently. Digital technology tools are utilized to source, collect, track and distribute food. Food banks also utilize systems to manage volunteers, neighbor registration, assistance with SNAP applications and so much more,” said Chief Information Officer at Feeding America, Maryann Byrdak.
Google.org is providing 10 million dollars in funding to support 32 Feeding America food banks, and United Food Bank was among those recipients. Google Ad Grants will also support United Food Bank by providing free advertisements on google so that more people searching for food banks in Arizona can find reliable information that connects them to food.
“To help meet increasing demands for food assistance in Arizona, Google.org has joined forces with Waymo to help expand United Food Bank’s food rescue program. Since May, Waymo Via has helped transport more than 44,000 pounds of bread on behalf of nonprofits’ food rescue efforts,” said Interim CEO, Mike Suriano, as he addressed the crowd of volunteers. “We are very grateful to donors and supporters like Google.org and Waymo who recognize the need for our services and support our efforts. This generous donation will ensure that we have the proper capacity and infrastructure to serve the needs of the community.”
Thank you to Google.org and Waymo for their dedication to community partnerships. It takes a village to serve our community, and United Food Bank could not have the impact we do without all the support from our donors, community, and volunteers. Every action makes a difference, big or small. 
Written by Sarah Bathe
