Food insecurity is accelerating across Pierce County, Washington — and one corporate volunteer effort just put more than 3,300 meals on the table. Sound Credit Union mobilized more than 450 employees at its annual Afternoon of Service, gathering in Tacoma to assemble 3,312 "Bowls of Hope" meal kits in partnership with the Emergency Food Network (EFN) in Lakewood.
Each kit contained the ingredients to prepare chicken tortilla soup, a warm, nutritious meal designed for families experiencing food insecurity. To maximize the effort, EFN leveraged its existing partnership with Costco to purchase ingredients in bulk, a supply-chain strategy that stretched the credit union's philanthropic budget further and increased total community impact.
The Hunger Context
The scale of need in Pierce County is significant. EFN, which partners with more than 75 food pantries, meal sites, and shelters in the region, is currently serving more than 350,000 visits each month — a number that continues to climb. "Visits to our partners are growing each month as families are facing rising costs of food, healthcare, and gas," said Lianna Olds, EFN's Deputy Director. EFN has set a goal of distributing 20 million pounds of food in 2026.
For foodservice and hospitality operators watching food costs squeeze both their own margins and their customers' wallets, the pressure Olds describes is familiar. Rising grocery prices that strain household budgets are the same inflationary forces reshaping consumer spending at restaurants across the Pacific Northwest. Our restaurant industry trends coverage has tracked how affordability concerns are reshaping dining behavior throughout the region.
A Model for Corporate Food Volunteerism
Sound's approach — aligning employee volunteer activity directly with bulk food assembly for a regional distributor — offers a replicable model for hospitality and foodservice companies looking to structure meaningful community impact programs. Rather than financial sponsorships alone, the credit union embedded its staff in the physical logistics of meal preparation, a format that resonates with the hands-on culture of the food and hospitality industry.
"It demonstrates that our partnerships with nonprofit organizations extend far beyond sponsorships," said Jennifer Reed, Vice President of Public Relations at Sound Credit Union. "Bringing our employees together to help provide a warm meal for someone experiencing food insecurity fills us with pride and reinforces our commitment to the communities we serve."
Food insecurity remains a persistent challenge for the communities that restaurants and hospitality businesses depend on. Food & Beverage Magazine has reported extensively on how the intersection of inflation, supply chain pressures, and wage stagnation is deepening food access gaps nationwide. Corporate volunteer programs that engage employees directly in food distribution — rather than simply writing checks — are increasingly seen as a more visible, culture-building form of giving. Our beverage and food industry analysis has noted similar trends emerging among national foodservice brands seeking stronger community ties in the markets they serve.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
