Ford Community

Volunteers and Ford employees work together to pack and distribute thousands of pounds of groceries. Now I had a chance to see take a look. On Detroit's east side, a different kind of drive is underway. One that's bringing hope and help to families facing food insecurity. There were dozens of cars lined up before the distribution even started and the flow was steady for the entire event. Through its partnership with Gleaners Community Food Bank, Ford Philanthropy is supporting large-scale distribution events Giving back has always been a part of Ford's DNA. Really for over 120 years, it has been an essential part of our identity to support community and currently food is one of the most challenging and pressing needs that the community is facing and we couldn't be more proud to partner with Gleaners to be a part of that solution. Ford's east side center is designed to connect residents with resources that strengthen the community and that mission was on full display. When I get up every morning, I'm t So it's important to have a very diverse set of items for families to pick up because you want a well-balanced meal. You want families to be able to receive good fruits and vegetables that are fresh, but then also have some of the shelf-sable items that you can stretch out a little bit when your food budget runs a little bit dry. Looks really good. And Ford employees For me, the food distribution is an easy way to make a big impact quickly. I'm a n The event is one of many distributions supported by Ford and Gleaners, a partners And as Dennis put it, taking the first step to making a difference. I We're not going to solve it all and t And for families who rely on these efforts, it's more than just a bag of groceries, it's a reminder that their community cares. Joining us now for even more insight into the work being done at the Ford Resource and Engagement Center are Hassan Mahmoud who is with Ford P Thank you both so much for being with us. Happy to be here, thank you for having us. And it was great being out there with Now Ford has been supporting the community for over 120 years so how does the company decide which challenges to tackle next Yeah that's a great question thank you and thank you for having us. So that's really the approach we take whatever community we're in to try and address community needs. Absolutely. All right let me ask you t Great question. So the last mile gap is a real problem. 2. 3 million households are affected by the last mile gap and what that means is those households live more than a mile away from a grocery store and don't have access to a ve So what we try to do is identify innovative solutions using our superpower w Exactly. To try and get people to food and to get food to people. So that can look a few different ways. So there is a partners We also do things Now what you really need is people like Dennis because you guys do some part of the hard work but he is a Ford employee he'someone on the front lines how does it feel to see Ford's mobility solutions like home deliveries or mobile markets directly reaching families who might otherwise be struggling to get food as the n Yeah absolutely so normally when we're here in the warehouse you can see the activity behind us that's what we're doing we're boxing up food we're sorting through produce and as a n Yes Dennis let me ask you t So I will say I know I've been doing this for many years about 20 years since the Ford Volunteer Corps has been in place and if you look behind us at the kind of assembly line that happens now that was actually a result of some of the Ford employees early on coming into the warehouse and saying let'set this up I mean it makes sense. It makes sense ford knows about assembly lines right? That's right. Assembly lines and efficiency hot in the Dennis thank you both so much for being with us yes thank you for hanging out with me when were Detroit's Eastside together.