Volunteer Sets Out to Package 200,000 Pounds of Food to Counteract Cancelled Event
Instead of sitting back when the annual Feed the Body, Feed the Soul bulk repack event got cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus, David Frerking, former Senior Parts Manager for Oshkosh Defense, set out to package on his own the 200,000 pounds of food that normally gets processed during the event.
“I’m the type of person you will see running towards a fire when there is an emergency or a need,” David explains. “I’m not someone who is going to play it safe and kick back and let someone else do the work. It kind of ticked me off that during this time of great need there was going to be 200,000 pounds that was not going to be packaged.”
Feed the Body, Feed the Soul brings together roughly 900 volunteers from Oshkosh Corporation and other local organizations to pack staple foods like pasta, rice, and beans over a 12-hour period for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin’s member pantries, all while enjoying live music. Other organizations involved in Feed the Body, Feed the Soul include US Venture, Nicolet National Bank, Ahern, Associated Bank, Fox Communities Credit Union, Werner Electric Supply, JJ Keller Foundation, Penske, and Sadoff.
“David has been an integral member of the Feed the Body, Feed the Soul committee over the past four years,” explains Liz Wollenberg, Director of Development for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. “He’s managed some of our most important donor relationships such as Miron Construction to meet our electricity needs and Oshkosh Defense to coordinate recycling and garbage disposal. He also heads up the creation of the working floor plan each year. When Feed the Body, Feed the Soul was cancelled, David made it his mission to ensure the same amount of food would be packed under his own volition.”
To tackle the challenge of packing all this food, David started volunteering at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin’s Appleton food bank every Friday afternoon, starting in April 2020. During his time volunteering every week for almost a year, David learned how to master the shrink wrap, electric lifts, cardboard baler, and process all the foods that come through the facility. Sadly, David’s volunteering time at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin recently came to an end since he and his family will be relocating to North Carolina for David’s new job. But in 11 months he was able to process 125,543 pounds of food.
“When you think of people’s basic necessities, they need food, water, and shelter,” David says. “When one of our sons passed away from cancer, it reminded me that life is short, but not too short that you can’t help someone else in one way or another. If you can feed people you can bring them together. That’s how communities are built.”
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