MIDTOWN, MANHATTAN — Commuters cut through Vanderbilt Hall the way they always do — heads down, coffee in hand, eyes on the next train. But on September 17, the marble floor of Grand Central Terminal looked a little different. Assembly lines. Yellow shirts. Boxes moving hand to hand under those famous vaulted ceilings.
By 2 p.m., 175 MetLife employees working across four shifts had packed 2,000 pantry boxes — food headed straight for New Yorkers.
The timing wasn’t random. It landed during Hunger Action Month, and it marked something bigger: MetLife Foundation’s 50th anniversary, celebrated through its “50 Days for 50 Years” campaign — 50 days of service, echoing 50 years of showing up.
“Food Bank For NYC is very pleased to partner with MetLife Foundation as we work to provide these much-needed resources to our New York neighbors,” said Janis Robinson, VP of Institutions and Partnerships at Food Bank For NYC.
50 Days, Every Borough
Grand Central was just one stop. Across the five boroughs, and around the world, MetLife employees are showing up for 50 straight days in their communities.
MetLife and MetLife Foundation’s partnership with Food Bank For New York City goes back more than a decade — this particular event, the Grand Central Food Bank 2 Go, is in its fourth year. But for the people packing boxes that morning, the commitment goes back much further than either number suggests.
“MetLife has always been a leader throughout its nearly 160-year history, consistently showing up when it counts, helping people navigate moments of uncertainty and change,” said Rich Williams, a 25-year MetLife employee and Relationship Manager in Enterprise Relationship Management. “This is just an extension of our commitment, and I think it builds energy internally and makes you proud to be a MetLifer.”
Rich has volunteered at every one of these events since they started. What keeps him coming back isn’t complicated. “I love the camaraderie,” he said. “People come together to support Food Bank For New York City, which I think is incredible.”
Following the Box
This year, Food Bank For NYC did something different: it followed the boxes out of Grand Central, tracking where they landed and who they fed. After being loaded onto the Food Bank For NYC truck, the boxes hit the road — headed to 9 member agencies across all five boroughs, and one mobile pantry distribution.
That commitment doesn’t end at the loading dock. MetLife employees will be back on the ground at the Fresh Youth Initiatives Mobile Pantry, distributing the very boxes they packed in Grand Central Terminal directly into the hands of New Yorkers.
For volunteers who’ve packed hundreds of boxes over the years, watching one travel from Vanderbilt Hall to a family’s kitchen table hits different.
“To really see where it goes and the impact it has — that’s what makes it worth it,” said Danielle DiDomenico, Director of Tax at MetLife, who volunteers at the event every year. “It actually drives home why we do this.”
DiDomenico sees the visibility of Grand Central as part of the point. “We’re better able to showcase what it means to help people,” she said. “You have a million people walk past and say, ‘What are all those people in yellow shirts doing?'”
For Food Bank For NYC staff on the ground, the day was a reminder of just how much a single shift can move. “Not only were these food items funded through MetLife Foundation’s generosity, but the MetLife volunteer support was critical to package up the items,” said Jess Presedo, Senior Director of Corporate Engagement at Food Bank For NYC. “While we had a lot of fun packing together in the iconic Vanderbilt Hall, the work is hard and the impact is real. Families across the city have access to food because of MetLife’s dedication.”
Presedo also noted the competitive spirit that showed up shift after shift. “MetLife volunteers take their work very seriously,” she said. “Each shift of volunteers was eager to break the record of their colleagues. We love working with groups like MetLife who understand that they can make a real impact packing a box that will fill the table for a family across the city, all while having fun as a team.”
A Lesson Passed Down
That same sense of purpose took a different form for Grace Soler, Manager of Government & Legal Affairs Operations — one shaped not by a single shift, but over a lifetime.
“She never forgot to give back to the community. That’s how we grew up,” Soler said, remembering her mother, who immigrated to New York when Grace was nine. “My mom taught us that no matter where you come from or where life takes you, the love and kindness you receive should always be shared with others.”
Her word for the day: “Persevere.” Not simply to finish the boxes, she said, but to keep showing up — for one another and for the community we all have a responsibility to support and strengthen.
One Box at a Time
That word could describe the whole campaign. Fifty years of MetLife Foundation. Fifty days of showing up across every borough. Two thousand boxes packed under one roof in Midtown — with still more impact on the way. September 17 wasn’t the finish line, it was one stop on a citywide commitment that doesn’t quit until the work is done. New Yorkers showing up for New Yorkers, one box at a time.
Ready to show up for families across New York City? Connect with our Corporate Engagement team to explore opportunities and see where your team’s impact lands.
