Warehouse training facility supports food distribution program

Although concerned citizens and corporations often step up to donate supplies and labor to help those in need, their efforts may be for naught without a place to store the supplies and pack up the donations.

That's not a problem in the Rock Hill, S.C., area. Thanks to a heads-up from Hänel Storage Systems, we recently learned that the warehouse operated by the Rock Hill school district's Applied Technology Center is helping to solve that problem for a local food-distribution initiative. That initiative, called "Back the Pack," was launched by a teacher who recognized that many students who received subsidized meals were going hungry during weekends. The program sends more than 500 bags per week of nonperishable food items home with students on Fridays. Students at the Applied Technology Center and other volunteers store, pick, and pack food for the program at the warehouse, which is part of the center's Transportation, Distribution & Logistics training program.

The center's warehouse is supported by the trade group the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA), and many of its members (including Hänel) have donated equipment such as shelving and storage bins, warehouse management software, and training services to the facility. The equipment and software are used to introduce students to the field of warehousing and material handling.

To learn more about the program and see volunteers at work in the warehouse, watch the video on MSNBC's website.