Post partners with CUOC to help feed the hungry

ASHEBORO — Working together in a family atmosphere, employees of Post Consumer Brands in Asheboro have been packing food kits for needy families.

It’s all part of National Volunteer Month that all 13 Post locations across North America participate in.

The Asheboro employees decided that this year would be devoted to helping Latino families with food insecurities.

“During Volunteer Month, we’ve been meeting every Wednesday and packing food kits,” Plant Manager John Kompa said. 

It’s part of a program called “Ingredients for Good” and Post has collaborated with Christians United Outreach Center (CUOC), which will stock its food pantry with the kits. Kompa said some of the kits would go to the Salvation Army food pantry.

“We wanted to pick an under-served community and the Latino population made sense,” Kompa said. “The food kits are culturally relevant” for Latinos, whose food choices don’t usually make it to food pantries.

During the four April Wednesdays, the Post employees packed 300 kits per week for a total of 1,200. Kompa said the first week was canned foods, the second week concentrated on dried foods such as pintos and rice, and the third and fourth weeks saw spices packed.

The Post employees volunteering to pack the food kits seemed to be enjoying themselves, joking and laughing with one another while filling up 16 large boxes with spices. 

Nicky Harry of Browns Summit said the event was “awesome, feeding families, taking time out of the day to help the needy.”

Harry also saw the occasion as an opportunity to see old friends. “A lot of people don’t see each other. This way we can catch up around the big table.”

Harry said she has worked at Post for five years. “I like it,” she said. “The people are friendly and it’s family-oriented.”

This is the second year of the companywide “Ingredients for Good” volunteer initiative. Each plant chooses a segment of the local population to serve.

A press release from Post Consumer Brands said, “According to Feeding America, more than 14 percent of North Carolina households don’t have enough to eat, placing it among the top 10 hungriest states in the nation. Food insecurity worsened during the pandemic, especially for children and people of color.

“ ‘Ingredients for Good’ aligns with Post Consumer Brands’ purpose: to make lives better by making delicious food accessible for all. As a food company, we believe that it’s our responsibility to help ensure everyone has a seat at the table.

“We also strongly believe in creating a culture where volunteering and giving back is core to what we do. Our ‘Ingredients for Good’ volunteer initiative is an opportunity for Post Consumer Brands team members to come together and do even more to help our neighbors in need put food on their tables. In its first year, Post Consumer Brands employees put in over 700 volunteer hours and donated or packed more than 30,000 meals in April 2022 through ‘Ingredients for Good.’ ” 

CUOC is a nonprofit organization that focuses on helping underserved communities and individuals achieve financial stability and independence. Their mission is to provide financial education and counseling, affordable housing options and small-business development resources to low-income families and individuals. They have been serving the community for more than 25 years and continue to make a positive impact on the lives of those they serve.

Located on 26 acres, Post Consumer Brands’ 723,200-square-foot Asheboro facility has been dedicated to making great-tasting cereals since it opened in 2006. Today, the facility employs about 240 people and produces on average more than 105 million pounds of cereal each year, which equates to about 1 billion bowls. Among the nearly 40 different products the plant produces are Honey Bunches of Oats^® cereal, Better Oats^® oatmeal and several varieties of Malt-O-Meal^® ready-to-eat cereals, including Mini Spooners^®, Honey Oat Blenders^® and Berry Colossal Crunch^®. The company is a major employer in the Asheboro area and a top taxpayer in Randolph County.