Bill Paxton, chief operating officer of Paxton Companies and treasurer of Paxton Van Lines, Inc., an Atlas agent, has been dedicated to the fight against hunger for many years now. And Paxton Van Lines has definitely been a great contributor to Move For Hunger's mission to mobilize the relocation industry to reduce food waste and fight hunger. Since joining the program in 2011, Paxton Van Lines has donated over 64,000 lbs of food!
Paxton says he first learned about Move For Hunger at an American Moving and Storage Association event and he's been committed to helping us in the fight against hunger ever since.
"Adam's (Lowy, Move For Hunger's Founder and Executive Director) passion for being part of the solution to the hunger problem in the in the U.S. is contagious," Paxton said.
There were no hesitations to joining the cause.
"The solution is a win-win for our clients and our company," Paxton said.
Paxton recalls a story from Thanksgiving last year, when he and his team had to literally mobilize their efforts to feed the homeless. Their "Feast with Friends" event was already all planned out in partnership with Friendship Place in Washington, D.C. The team was prepared to feed between 175-200 homeless people that day, but an unexpected guest showed up right across the street.
"When we arrived at St. Luke’s that morning we noticed a large police and secret service presence in the area. As we set up to serve we learned that President Obama and the First Lady were making a surprise visit to serve food to the homeless and veterans right across the street!"
An appearance by the President and the First Lady was an unexpected obstacle presented to the team. They had all the food prepared, but clients gravitated towards the First Family for that day's meal. There was no way for them to store and preserve all the food.
"So our team 'mobilized' the effort. My brother and his husband purchased paper products and plastic wrap; my wife and kids started plating and wrapping individual Thanksgiving meals. We loaded about 100 meals into our cars and headed into the city. We went from park to park in D.C. and distributed meals to as many people as we could possibly help."
The Paxton team turned this obstacle into an opportunity and made the best of it. They plan to participate in the event this year again and will be well prepared just in case the First Family shows up again.
When asked about the problem of hunger is his community, Paxton said, "Honestly I think it’s utterly ridiculous.
"The D.C. area is one of the nicest places to live in the country with a great deal of wealth and a vibrant economy," he continued. "There is no reason anyone, particularly children, should go to bed hungry in this area."
For the future with Move For Hunger, Paxton says they plan to hold food drives with their large corporate clients. They've also incorporated Move For Hunger print-outs into their pre-move packets. Their estimators and surveyors will carry co-branded Paxton/Move For Hunger boxes so customers can have the boxes prior to pack day. Also, Paxton Van Lines will be the first moving company in the area that will have Move For Hunger designed truck wraps!
There are nearly 91,000 people in Washington, D.C. who struggle with food insecurity, including 1 in 8 children. Paxton thinks that educating people about hunger can help to alleviate the problem.
"Those of us that participate in programs like Move for Hunger just need to do a better job communicating and spreading the message!"
Thanks for all of your help and dedication Bill!
As Bill said, Move For Hunger makes it easy to participate. Let us help you start a food drive.
