Life at Bio-Rad

Bio-Rad Employees Volunteer at Local Food Bank

September 12, 2023

Earlier this summer, more than 30 Bio-Rad employees from our Life Science Group (LSG) R&D Team participated in a team “volunteer day” sorting and bagging produce for the Contra Costa and Solano Food Bank in Northern California. During the volunteer effort, a group of 21 employees volunteered at the food bank’s Concord, California warehouse while another 15 employees spent time at their Fairfield, California warehouse.

Bio-Rad employees pose at the Concord, California warehouse. 

Jeff Blitstein, an engineering manager for Bio-Rad, says he began volunteering at the food bank last year and wanted to invite more employees to create a bigger impact. “Since December, myself and a number of colleagues in R&D have gone back out there every six weeks or so to volunteer at either the Concord warehouse or the Fairfield facility,” Jeff says.  

Jeff (holding sign) poses with other Bio-Rad employees at the Fairfield, California warehouse. 

Prior to the recent volunteer effort, Bio-Rad has also donated to the food bank as part of the Company’s annual food drive. At the end of 2022, the food bank reported that a record number of people are now turning to them for help — 250,000 people a month, in fact. 

After coordinating with the food bank on a plan to lend a helping hand, Jeff took his idea to Trey Marlow, VP of LSG R&D. “Trey thought it would be a great team building activity for the department, and so it kind of went from there and then we started talking about dates,” Jeff says.  

Bio-Rad employees made a major impact, sorting tens of thousands of pounds of potatoes, onions, and bread. “The Concord facility had a coordinator monitoring everything,” Jeff says, “so they actually got their weight for their activity, and they did just under 10,000 pounds of goods. We divided that up by the number of volunteers and it was 470 pounds per person for that two-hour shift, so that’s moving pretty good.

“We did not have that level of coordination in Fairfield, but we did an eyeball estimate, and we called it a tie," Jeff jokes.  He says that the department is planning another volunteer opportunity in October or November, and expects another great turnout.

"I think it resonated with a lot of people because I think during the pandemic, a lot of us were probably donating money," Jeff says. 

"But this is much more personal. When you make an investment in your own time, it feels more tangible. Feels more meaningful." 

To learn more about our culture of giving, click here.