MBA students provide over 12,000 pounds of food for Oklahomans in need

Friday, September 2, 2016

Students in the Oklahoma State University MBA program recently learned how giving a little bit can make a big impact. As part of the final day of new student orientation, students volunteered at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.

The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma is a part of the Feeding America network of food banks. Each week, the Regional Food Bank provides enough food for approximately 116,000 Oklahomans. Children make up 37 percent of hungry Oklahomans. Last year, the Regional Food Bank provided 49.9 million pounds of food.

“The Food Bank volunteer event was awesome – I didn’t know that sorting saltine crackers could be so much fun,” said Ashley Bjornsen, MBA student. “It was a good way to get to know our MBA cohort in a fun, casual setting, and it’s really cool to know that we helped make a difference in the Oklahoma City community. I’ll be going back there for sure.”

The MBA students were able make a generous contribution in the two and half hours of volunteering. The group was split into three task areas, with five students pairing applesauce packs, five students sorting and boxing crackers, and the rest of the group was responsible for boxing food.

“Volunteers handled over 20 percent of that food, contributing over 130,000 hours, enough to save nearly $2 million in manual labor costs,” Denice Hurlbut, Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma Associate Director of Volunteerism, said. “Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.”

In this short amount of time, the MBA students work totaled 12,072 pounds of food. Calculating the average standard rate of one meal as 1.2 pounds, the MBA students provided 10,060 meals to Oklahomans in need.

“I was extremely proud of our students,” said Jan Analla, assistant director for business graduate programs in the Watson Graduate School of Management. “They demonstrated the power of teamwork by boxing over 12,000 pounds of food while learning the importance of giving back.”

Regional Food Bank volunteer Diane Bruno was completing her shift as she noticed the group of 35 students, so she decided to stay and help. Marten Hillen, MBA student, discovered she frequently volunteers at the Regional Food Bank. 

“It was a pleasure working and visiting with the group,” Bruno said. “I've been volunteering at the Food Bank since this June, when I can.  The Food Bank does great things for a wide variety of people.”

On behalf of the MBA students, Hillen presented Bruno with an OSU MBA shirt because she joined the group to volunteer. 

“Bruno was a great help with all the tasks, so we thought she should have an MBA shirt as well,” Hillen said.

Through participating in this volunteering event, students learned the kind of impact they can make for so many Oklahomans in just a few hours. After listening to the results, the group realized they were not only helping others, but they also created bonds with fellow MBA students.