More than 700 families in need were provided with food for two weeks, at a food “mega distribution” event hosted by Caterpillar Seguin on May 21, 2020. The local New Braunfels Food Bank event is part of a series of events across our local communities to help get more people access to food support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this unprecedented time, more and more families need support for basic human needs – including food. Many of these individuals have never had to request food support in the past, so to be able to serve this many families over the course of a few hours is truly impactful.

“In these kinds of times, there’s a lot more need than what there normally is, and not everybody can get to the food bank,” said Mark Stratton, general manager, Industrial Power Systems Division (IPSD) Large Engines on the food bank event. “They’re being real proactive and trying to get out into the local communities and provide the support they can to the families in need where they live.

More Than A Meal

This wasn’t just about getting to a lot of people all at once; the New Braunfels Food Bank provided an impactful offering to the families who registered and attended the food distribution. Each family received two weeks of food for an average family.

Given the scale of the event, the New Braunfels Food Bank needed a large location with good logistical layouts to accommodate the vehicle traffic in and out as people receive their food. Our Caterpillar Seguin facility was a great option for this, given the size of our employee parking lots and location in the City of Seguin.

Leigh Henderson, IPSD Large Engines human resources manager, is on the board of directors for the New Braunfels Food Bank and learned that the food bank was looking for good organizations/locations to support these large-scale distribution events. The timing and location at Caterpillar Seguin made a lot of sense, so the planning team moved quickly to make it happen.

We’re All in This Together

One person or one organization can’t make an event like this happen. This food distribution event was a team effort, planned and executed by people who are passionate to help others. Some of those that helped plan and run this event include:

• New Braunfels Food Bank – planning and leading the event, and of course providing the food
• Caterpillar Seguin – hosting the event, providing 30+ volunteers, helping coordinate logistics
• National Guard – assisting the food bank in this and other similar events
• Guadalupe Regional Medical – providing personnel for volunteer temperature checks
• Community members – volunteers exceeded 100, from the above organizations and many individuals in the community who just love to give back

“We’re proud to be part of the Seguin community, and it’s important for us as a company and for our employees to contribute to the communities where we live and work,” said Mark.

“We’ve always been impressed by the way our employees – before and during this pandemic – are eager to find ways to give back in our community.”

Ongoing Partnership with New Braunfels Food Bank:

Caterpillar Seguin recently partnered with the Caterpillar Foundation to assist the New Braunfels Food Bank in applying for a COVID-19 Relief grant. We are thrilled that the Caterpillar Foundation has awarded New Braunfels Food Bank a $16,000 grant.