.<\/span><\/p>\n Inside the Commons, Microsoft\u2019s bustling hub of caf\u00e9s and stores, quiet now for weeks because of COVID-19, there is a daily ritual of hope, and determination. On a recent morning, as the biggest and brightest moon of the year\u2014the<\/span> Pink Moon\u2014disappeared<\/span> behind an empty playfield, a small army of dedicated volunteers filed in to take up their posts on an otherwise deserted Redmond campus.<\/span><\/p>\n They\u2019re here to lend a hand, and to do something productive in uncertain times.<\/span><\/p>\n .<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n A quiet Microsoft Commons in the time of COVID-19.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n .<\/span><\/p>\n As so many good ideas do, this one started with a problem: How to make sure kids and families, who depend on school for daily meals, but are stranded at home, still get the sustenance they rely on?<\/span><\/p>\n How does Microsoft continue to support our suppliers, many of which are local, while most of the food services on campus are shuttered with the majority of employees working from home?<\/span><\/p>\n The answer? Repurpose some of Microsoft\u2019s food for schools and families during this time of crisis and magnified need.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n Volunteers from Dining and Eventions at Microsoft, managed by Compass Group USA, arrive to assemble lunches.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n .<\/span><\/p>\n Every day, 60-65 volunteers from Microsoft\u2019s dining and catering services arrive before dawn. They\u2019ve devised a makeshift assembly-line system to organize and distribute the lunch components and pack them for shipment. Using the open spaces usually bustling with campus lunch-goers or reserved for meetings and conferences, they pack with care, in about three hours, 6,420 lunches for delivery.<\/span><\/p>\n Shouts of hello and good morning fill the otherwise vacant hallways. A camaraderie bolstered by a shared feeling of doing something useful fills up the cavernous space.<\/span><\/p>\n The effort is both serious\u2014and<\/span> scrappy. Last month, as closures mounted, the team had to quickly repurpose menus from more than 25 onsite cafes, with the help of Microsoft\u2019s dietician, who herself once worked for a school district. The menu thoughtfully takes into account the needs of growing bodies (and follows the National School Lunch Program guidelines).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n Lunches are carefully crafted with a nutritious balance in mind.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n .<\/span><\/p>\n On this day the lunches are being prepared for local Boys and Girls Clubs and YMCA, Hopelink and Northwest Harvest. They include: a sandwich (from Molly\u2019s in Seattle), fruit, vegetable, snack, dessert and milk.<\/span><\/p>\n Kris Valencia is a fixture on the scene, greeting the day\u2019s volunteers, and organizing workflow. Valencia is the executive chef for Eventions, Microsoft\u2019s onsite catering and event production department, managed by Compass Group USA.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n Kris Valencia, executive chef for Microsoft Eventions, near the loading dock where the lunches are packaged for transport.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n .<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEvery day, people are making a lot of sacrifices, with kids at home and other struggles. If I\u2019m going to be a leader for this program, I want to be there for my people,\u201d he says. \u201cThey are here because they want to do something in this time of crisis. To give something back and because Microsoft has been so gracious to provide pay for associates while the cafes have been closed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-microsoft-is-repurposing-dining-resources-to-serve-communities-in-need.jpg\")
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