Martin Luther King Jr. Day became Martin Luther King Jr. Month and then some as employee volunteers across Medline turned their focus back to the issue of food insecurity.

Through the first days of February, more than 1,100 pounds of nonperishable food was collected at 11 Medline work locations – 10 distribution centers and manufacturing plants, plus the global headquarters in Northfield, Ill. – and donated to local food banks through the second annual food drive coordinated by the Black Employee Network (BEN), one of seven Medline employee resource groups. Donations came in the entire month of January, before and after King’s birthday. However, organizers actually started their efforts much earlier, tying the project not just to King and his messages of shared humanity and service to others, but also to the natural inclination of people to give at the holidays.

“We felt that starting around Thanksgiving, people are already in the spirit and a little bit more philanthropic, so if you’re out buying things for your celebrations with family and friends, you might pick up a couple of extra items to donate,” said Dionne Hitch, senior manager of regional operations for supply chain optimization and a Maryland-based BEN board member who leads the group’s community outreach committee. “We wanted to take that all the way into MLK Day and beyond.”

At Medline’s distribution center in Romulus, Mich., just outside Detroit, human resources generalist Roger Williams was certain that employees would come through even bigger than they did in 2024, and he was right: Donations to Gleaners Community Food Bank, which workers began dropping off in the DC’s main break area in early December, added up to 554 pounds, nearly double what the Romulus site collected a year ago.

Like other local leads for the food drive, Williams encouraged friendly competition, dividing employees into two teams – the earlier shifts and the later ones – to see who could contribute the most.

“I spoke to every one of the shifts and explained to them the need to give during this time,” Williams said. “People are hungry, and there’s food scarcity all over.”

In fact, the most recent USDA Food Security Report revealed that in 2023, 13.5% of U.S. households experienced food insecurity, defined as a lack of regular access to enough safe and nutritious food, with more than 47.4 million people affected.

“It was a really good feeling to walk by our break room and see all those boxes with the food inside and canned goods all around,” Williams said.

Inspired by the outpouring, he’s hoping to give employees in Romulus other volunteer opportunities later this year – possibly another donation drive for school supplies this summer.

The wheels also are turning at Medline’s manufacturing center in Laredo, Texas, where HR manager Kavita Idnani-Ramos encouraged food drive participation that led to about 150 pounds of nonperishables being donated to the South Texas Food Bank on Feb. 4 – up from 120 pounds last year. Like Williams, she sees the BEN initiative as a jumping-off point for more volunteerism in 2025, to be shaped by a survey she recently sent asking Laredo employees which non-profits they’d be interested in supporting. They previously have rolled up their sleeves for Habitat for Humanity, the local Bethany House homeless shelter and other organizations.

“A lot of the employees here love to volunteer,” Idnani-Ramos said. “And when they know it’s going to a local organization, that really excites them because they know they’re contributing to their own community.”

For BEN co-chair Carol Barnett, director of business planning and operations, advanced wound care, that emphasis on helping locally is key. It’s what Medline ERGs strive for: doing good work in communities, fueled by increased involvement from the DCs and manufacturing sites nearby.

“Medline has long been a good citizen, and this drive is a natural continuation of commitment to serve,” Barnett said. “Delivery of critical items to local food banks around Martin Luther King Day is a meaningful way for ERGs and employees to connect for immediate impact.”

Added Hitch: “Just like Dr. King’s message was to bring us all together, we’re one Medline, one people. This is for everyone, all included. It’s about unity, bringing people together.”

Learn more about the ways in which Medline stands with communities and helps people to live healthier lives.