At LayerZero, we are always honored to work with Food2Share to combat food insecurity in the Aurora and Mantua communities.
Since 2004, Food2Share has helped to meet the increasing demand for food assistance in the Aurora community. Founded by Bruce Harris, the organization is known for their “Fill a Bag, Feed a Family” program, which encourages volunteers to collect food donations. In 2023, the program collected 54,000 pounds of food, receiving support from local churches, Mike Roberto, Superintendent of the Aurora City School District, and Aurora Mayor Ann Womer Benjamin.
From February 24th to March 16th, 2025, LayerZero hosted a friendly competition between each of our three buildings to see who could donate the most food and toiletries to those in need. To ensure fair competition, food was weighed and divided by the number of people who worked at that building, creating a specific number of pounds per associate.
Throughout the three-week competition, each week had a specific theme, ensuring Food2Share received the items they needed most. For week one, each building collected liquid and canned goods. Despite having a slow beginning of only six cans of food, our Harris building took the lead, winning week one with 189 lbs, equaling out to 2.7 lbs donated per associate. As the winning building, Harris earned a sweet treat of cookies.
For week two, each building worked together to collect dry goods. By the end of the week, Harris remained victorious, donating 175 lbs (equaling about 2.3 lbs per associate). They deservedly won a delicious donut with some fresh orange juice. Though Harris remained in the lead, each building still had an equal chance of winning week three.
In the final week of the competition, we collected single-serving size items for the Kids Weekend Meals program, who provide backpacks full of food and recipe cards to kids in need. Though a valiant effort from each building, Harris remained victorious, donating 226 lbs of items or about 3.23 lb per associate. Congratulations to Harris for an incredible win week after week. In total, LayerZero donated an astonishing 1,641 lbs of food to Food2Share to help those in need. Harris donated 643 lbs, while Philipp donated 555 lbs and Danner with 443 lbs.
“It was such a rewarding experience working alongside Food2Share and helping to organize the drive,” said Caroline Coates, HR Generalist at LayerZero. “Everyone was so passionate about the cause. It was inspiring to see how dedicated the company was to making a positive impact in the community. From coordinating logistics to gathering donations, every step felt meaningful. I truly appreciated the opportunity to contribute to such an important cause. Overall, it was a collaborative and heartwarming experience and I loved to see everyone come together for it.”
In a letter of appreciation to LayerZero, Food2Share wrote, “The experience of Food2Share and what we individually experienced every time we came to your warehouse to replenish our food shelves has been nothing less than incredible. The commitment and welcoming warmth exhibited by your warehouse team is beyond any of our expectations.”
We were so excited to do this competition and more importantly, we are excited to see the positive impact this will have on many families in our community.
“We want you to know that the lives of over 1,400 people are better because of your caring and sharing hearts,” the letter continued. “Most of you do not know any of the single mothers, handicapped adults and children, unemployed men or women or seniors on fixed incomes that come to us for help. So, on behalf of everyone we serve, we want to thank you for being our hunger heroes!”