UNFI Associates Support Their Communities in Nationwide Clothing Drive

February 21, 2025           5 minute read

UNFI associates paid it forward last month with Coats for King, a company-wide clothing drive in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. The initiative, now in its second year, is an opportunity for associates to support their communities while contributing to UNFI’s volunteerism goal of 25,000 hours in 2025. 

“At UNFI, giving back to our communities is part of our DNA,” said Jimmie Sanders, SVP, Operations, Conventional Products Division. “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, ‘Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve.’ Our associates do a great job delivering better food to our communities every day. Coats for King is another way we come together to help people and have a real, tangible impact where we live and work.” 

Held in January, the Coats for King initiative is led by BUILT BIG, the UNFI Black Leaders of Today Belonging and Innovation Group. Comprised of associates from across UNFI, BUILT’s mission is to cultivate community by expanding associate networks and deepening relationships both inside UNFI and beyond. The enthusiasm, commitment and generosity shown by BUILT members and the associates who participated in Coats for Kings exemplify UNFI’s core values of Do The Right Thing, Win Together, and Better Every Day.

Doing The Right Thing in our communities 

The mindset of service is very much alive in UNFI’s Centralia, Washington distribution center, where associates regularly turn out in big numbers for volunteer events. “It’s very much a ‘what can we do for our community’ culture here,” said Centralia Human Resources Manager and BUILT member Carrie Whalen. “So, Coats for King was a perfect fit for us.” The 800 pounds of clothing donated in Centralia will be divided among three different charitable organizations covering the various counties where local warehouse associates and drivers live.

Winning Together for a common cause 

A lot of donation sites come from associate suggestions. UNFI Philadelphia Warehouse Supervisor Harry Cyril and his wife have been making annual donations of Thanksgiving meals and hygiene supplies to Station House, an all-male transitional shelter, since 2015. When the distribution center asked for recommendations on where to make donations last Thanksgiving, Harry brought his connection forward. “Every partnership is important,” Cyril said. “They asked, ‘Do you have anything in mind?’ and I said, ‘Yes! I can introduce you to Station House.’ And we donated over 100 bags of personal care items.”

UNFI Philadelphia has grown its relationship with SELF Inc., the nonprofit human services agency that operates Station House, with the Coats for King initiative, donating all items collected to their male- and female-identifying housing sites. 

Increasing impact by being Better Every Day 

BUILT members who organized the initiative used learnings from last year’s event to increase participation and impact in 2025. And the results speak for themselves. UNFI associates from 25 distribution centers donated over 4,400 articles of clothing, contributing 418 volunteer hours toward the company’s annual goal. That’s nearly a 65 percent increase in donations over year one. 

Inspired by fellow associates’ acts of service, BUILT members are already sharing ideas on how to grow the initiative and help associates make an even greater impact in their communities next year.