Sailors and civilians assigned to Naval District Washington (NDW) have delivered more than 17,400 pounds worth of total food donations for the Feds Feed Families Campaign (FFF) as of Aug. 24.

Summer is usually synonymous with vacations and while most people are away relaxing on their time off, food banks are working overtime to keep their shelves full. Fortunately with the various donations received through the FFF campaign, these food banks are able to maintain their food stock and continue to serve those in need.

Naval District Washington is once again committed to the success of this year's campaign.

"The primary goal during this campaign is to support and encourage each NDW installation military and federal employee to remember there are hungry people among us," said Lt. Christilene Whalen, NDW FFF coordinator.

Each installation is encouraged to sponsor a specific food drive activity highlighting the FFF campaign. Naval Support Activity Washington Morale, Welfare and Recreation has welcomed the FFF food drive to the Navy Yard to be a part of their summer ice cream socials. The next food drive/ice cream social is Aug. 27.

"We want everyone to remember to bring some non-perishable goods to donate as they enjoy free ice cream and music in the yard," said Whelan. "Collection of the food items is in a weekly basis in order to make the report and keep track of donations."

Collection times vary from installation to installation in the NDW region. For information on collection times and box locations, contact the installation chaplain.

This year's campaign officially began on July 15, 2015 and runs through Oct. 2, 2015. All Federal agencies are asked to participate and share their collections with their local food banks with the goal of ensuring that the FFF campaign will stretch across America and be visible and active in every state.

This year the Feds Feed Families are also encouraged to take advantage of gleaning. That's when people go to local farms and pick produce that can be donated to food pantries, which accept fresh food (most food banks do not). People can reach out to Society of St. Andrew for gleaning opportunities in their area.

Since it began 2009, the food drive has collected nearly 39 million pounds of food. The Navy and Marine Corps team alone collected 1.5 million pounds of food last year.

For more information about the Feds Feed Families campaign visit their website at http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=feds-feed-families .

For more information about events and news around Naval District Washington visit our website at http://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/ndw.html or our
Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NavDistWash

For more news from Naval District Washington, visit www.navy.mil/.