Nurturing Relationships and Feeding the Hungry

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Thermo King of Houston's We Move Food Success

When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Texas in late August 2017, it played no favorites when it came to the level of destruction it caused. The Houston Food Bank, the largest food bank in the U.S, experienced extensive damage to its refrigerated fleet, a fleet relied on to serve more than 122 million nutritious meals to over 800,000 Texans each year. While the challenge of getting back up and running quickly seemed daunting, our dealer Thermo King of Houston was there to help and the We Move Food Program provided additional opportunity.

"We've had a relationship with the Houston Food Bank for some time, providing support and service when possible," said Dean Crowell, vice president of Operations and general manager at the dealership. "After Harvey, we were able to help them with a significant order and the We Move Food program has allowed the Food Bank to improve and grow its refrigerated fleet even faster with improved pricing.

"The Houston Food bank is building a better, more reliable refrigerated fleet and the money saved is helping with their root cause – feeding the hungry. Considering that just $1 provides three healthy meals to someone in need; we can make a big difference."

Building a Better Fleet

To ensure that the temperature and quality of the food products that go into those meals is maintained, Thermo King of Houston has converted the Houston Food Bank's food collection and delivery fleet to all Thermo King refrigerated units.

"After the initial refrigeration unit order following Hurricane Harvey, Michael Boelman, sales representative at Thermo King of Houston, completed a full fleet profile and the conversion has been taking place throughout 2018," said Dean. 

• In total, the food bank is converting nearly 200 Thermo King units including Precedent® C-600 trailer units, T-1280 Spectrum and T-1080R truck units, and has included ThermoLite™ solar panels, TracKing™ telematics, fuel sensors and more to the mix as well.
• The We Move Food program -- and the discounted products and services it makes available, is helping to make this aggressive fleet conversion possible.

"The product mix is helping the Houston Food Bank reach their goals by giving them dependable and reliable equipment. The value of adding our Connected Solutions products was seen immediately," said Michael. "The solar panels are keeping batteries charged and ready, the fuel sensors are eliminating costly out of fuel situations, and TracKing is monitoring trailers and temperatures for added safety."

According to Jason Robison, vice president, Thermo King of Houston, it is the partnership between Thermo King of Houston, Thermo King Corporation, the We Move Food program, and Feeding America that enabled the successful conversion of the Houston Food bank from a competitive account to a 100 percent Thermo King account.

"It's all about providing a superior product, superior service and a commitment to better our community," said Jason. "Transport refrigeration plays a critical role in eliminating waste and increasing food stability, and we're pleased to help the Houston Food Bank fulfil its mission."